It has become increasingly common to find jurisdictions adopting an explicit and succinct statement of the goals they are trying to achieve when they regulate lawyers. The first example was the 2007 UK Legal Services Act, which set forth the regulatory objectives that the Act — and its implementation — should achieve. The form that such adoption…
The case for proactive management-based regulation to improve professional self-regulation for US lawyers
This article argues that the American Bar Association (ABA) should recommend, and the state courts should adopt, proactive management-based regulation (PMBR) programs to supplement the existing complaint-based systems of professional discipline. The article discusses the New South Wales program, highlighting the requirement that incorporated legal practices designate Legal Practitioner Directors, and non-adversarial collaboration between regulators and…
The Role of Ethics Audits in Improving Management Systems and Practices: An Empirical Examination of Management-Based Regulation of Law Firms
Using management-based principles, this Article discusses steps to take to encourage ethics audits ‘to merge good ethics and good business’ in the United States of America. For decades, legal malpractice experts have urged lawyers to implement risk management measures, and legal malpractice insurers have provided audit services and self-audit materials. Under the Australian regulatory regime,…
Higher Demand, Lower Supply? A Comparative Assessment of the Legal Landscape for Ordinary Americans
Comments on the lack of data available, provides a summary of a US household legal needs study in 1994 where 50% of households experienced one of more legal problems annually. Of those with legal needs, 37% of the poor sought assistance from a third-party for resolution of the problem, 29% from a specifically legal third…
American Bar Association, USA
American Bar Association Jurisdiction: United States of America Country: United States of America Regulatory function: Further information: American Bar Association website ICLR members:
Innovations in the provision of legal services in the United States
In a report for the RAND Corporation, Neil Rickman and James M. Anderson present a framework for examining legal sector innovation in the United States. This framework is to aid policymakers in understanding the likely effects of innovations and the role of regulation in promoting or deterring innovation. RAND Corporation. “Innovations in the Provision of Legal Services in…
Irrational behaviour as a rationale for regulation
Should regulators intervene on the ground that it’s for the consumer’s own good, even if the consumer doesn’t know it? In the Journal of Policy Analysis & Management, a series of articles puts the pros and cons of this approach, which seeks to intervene to address “costs we impose on ourselves by taking actions that are not in our…