Abstract At one time, the legal profession largely regulated itself. However, based on the economic notion that increased competition would benefit consumers, jurisdictions have deregulated their legal markets by easing rules relating to attorney advertising, fees, and, most recently, nonlawyer ownership of law firms. Yet, despite reformers’ high expectations, legal markets today resemble those of previous decades, and most legal services continue to be…
Top jurists call for regulatory change to increase access to justice
During the 9th June ABA discussion on regulatory change, Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer of the Arizona Supreme Court stated that despite decades of efforts to encourage practising lawyers to perform a minimum of 50 pro bono hours annually to increase access to justice, minimal results have been achieved. Timmer is part of…
Legal Services Board of England and Wales consultation on new processes for changing regulatory arrangements
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales (LSB) has launched a consultation examing proposed new rules and guidance for alterations to regulatory arrangements. The LSB is considering the rule changes as part of its statutory functions in assessing applications from the nine different regulatory bodies in England and Wales to alter their regulatory arrangements….
Legal Services Board annual regulatory performance review pushes improvements in performance and governance
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published annual reports on the performance of the eight legal services regulatory bodies. Each one of the eight providers regulates a different type of lawyer in England and Wales, and has control over its day to day operations. However under the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act), they have…
UK Competition and Markets Authority review of legal services market
The UK Competition and Markets Authority has released an updated report based on its initial findings on the legal services market published in 2016. The report recognises the improvements that have been made in increasing the transparency of the price, service and quality of legal services, but said there was more to do to increase…
RegTech and Predictive Lawmaking: Closing the RegLag between Prospective Regulated Activity and Regulation
Abstract Regulation chronically suffers significant delay starting at the detectable initiation of a “regulable activity” and culminating at effective regulatory response. Regulator reaction is impeded by various impediments: (i) confusion in optimal level, form and choice of regulatory agency, (ii) political resistance to creating new regulatory agencies, (iii) lack of statutory authorization to address particular…
Law Society of British Columbia to Widen Access to Legal Services
On September the 10th the Law Society of British Columbia elected to make changes suggested by a task force on modernisation established this January. The task force cited ongoing changes in the legal market, which have been accelerated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the pace of change in other jurisdictions, as to…
Law Society of Saskatchewan Makes COVID-19 Rule Changes Permanent
The Law Society of Saskatechewan has announced that the Government of Saskatchewan has repealed emergency regulations surrounding remote execution and witnessing of documents electronically and replaced them with permanent rule changes, which will extend beyond the period of public emergency. The rule changes come about in the light of the increased efficiency and lower cost…
Arizona to Allow Non-Lawyer Ownership
The Arizona Supreme Court has approved rule changes allowing for non-lawyer ownership of law firms in the state. The rule change comes in the wake of the two-year sandbox announced in Utah, however, the Arizona courts went one step further, opting to make the changes permanent. The recommendations for the rule change were first proposed…
Lawyer Regulation in Kiribati
Abstract The Kiribati legal profession developed slowly from 1980 to 1997 and grew rapidly following the establishment of the University of the South Pacific (USP) School of Law. The legal profession in Kiribati may be described as a nascent or proto-profession. While it demonstrates some features of a profession, such as maintaining a monopoly over specialised knowledge and being…