LSRA open consultation on legal partnerships draft resolution

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has initiated a month-long consultation on the draft regulatory framework for new legal partnerships. This framework enables partnerships between solicitors and barristers, allowing them to offer legal services jointly, a development made possible by amendments to the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 in July 2023. These partnerships may operate…

Law Society of Law Society of New South Wales, Australia, develops form allowing sole practitioners to nominate a personal representative

The Law Society of New South Wales has developed a form to help sole practitioners safeguard their practice. Law Society President, Cassandra Banks, has urged the approximately 6,600 sole solicitor or single principal practices in New South Wales to plan for the future by nominating a personal representative and an alternate through a new online…

Illinois Supreme Court to hold public hearing on proposed rule amendments

The Illinois Supreme Court Rules Committee is set to conduct a public hearing on November 15, where feedback on five proposals will be sought. The hearing will encompass proposed amendments to Rule 8.4, addressing attorney misconduct, and Rule 794, outlining the 6-hour professional responsibility MCLE requirement. For those interested in providing comments on the proposals,…

Evidence-based lawyer regulation

The legal profession is losing its authority over the regulation of legal services. Recent changes in antitrust law have put state bar associations under a spotlight. Competition from technology companies and concerns about access to justice have increased political pressure for market liberalization. Independent research is challenging the unique value of lawyers’ services, even in…

American Bar Association propose amendments to Model Rules of Professional Conduct

The Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Committee on Professional Regulation has produced a third discussion draft of possible amendments to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These possible changes aim to clarify lawyer’s obligations on client due diligence. This comment period has been influenced by the previous two drafts and the public comments…

The Politics of Lawyer Regulation: The Case of Malpractice Insurance

This article examines the politics of lawyer regulation and considers why some states will adopt lawyer regulation that protects the public, when others will not. It uses the debates over how to regulate uninsured lawyers as a lens through which to examine the question. Clients often cannot recover damages from uninsured lawyers who commit malpractice,…

The impact of international lawyer organizations on lawyer regulation

Levin, L. C., Mather, L., & de Groot-van Leeuwen, L. (2018). The impact of international lawyer organizations on lawyer regulation. Fordham Int’l LJ, 42, 407. While much of the scholarly attention devoted to lawyer regulation focuses on state or national actors, the impact of international lawyer organizations has been largely ignored. Increasingly, however, a number of such…

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