Renee Newman Knake on Corporations, the Delivery of Legal Services, and the First Amendment Part II
In Part I of this post, I identified a jurisprudential thread of cases that suggest corporations have a First Amendment right to own and invest in law practices for the delivery legal services. These decisions include NAACP v. Button, the union trilogy, and Bates v. State Bar of Arizona. Two recent cases shed light on ... Renee Newman Knake on Corporations, the Delivery of Legal Services, and the First Amendment Part II
Benjamin Barton on The Lawyer-Judge Bias
First, thanks to TOTM for organizing this symposium on a most timely and important topic. As computers and technology have revolutionized every aspect of human endeavor it is a particularly critical time to ask ourselves why 21st century law schools closely resemble the law schools of the late-19th century and why in court litigation would ... Benjamin Barton on The Lawyer-Judge Bias
Nuno Garoupa on Reforming Legal Professions in Europe
The European Commission, in particular the Directorate-General for Competition, has shown interest in promoting competition in the market for legal services since the early 2000s. Some countries such as the United Kingdom have taken this matter seriously. After a long review process, the British government has recently implemented a new regulatory set-up for legal services ... Nuno Garoupa on Reforming Legal Professions in Europe
George Leef on If We Want Creative Destruction, Destroy Unauthorized Practice Prohibitions
I may have missed it, but a topic that I don’t think has come up in the discussion thus far is unauthorized practice of law prohibitions. If we want to allow the free market’s discovery process to work – finding new modes of delivering services that serve consumers better than the old ones – we ... George Leef on If We Want Creative Destruction, Destroy Unauthorized Practice Prohibitions
Dan Katz on Legal Informatics, Corporate Law Firm Ownership and 21st Century Legal Education
A recent article argues “65 percent of today’s elementary aged kids may end up doing work that hasn’t even yet been invented.” This is a thought provoking number and it points to the disruptive nature of innovation and its impact on a variety of labor markets. There is a portion of the downturn in legal ... Dan Katz on Legal Informatics, Corporate Law Firm Ownership and 21st Century Legal Education
Walter Olson on Reform Law Schools, Don’t Sue Them
I’ve expressed doubts previously as to whether the simple model of licensure as incumbent protection adequately explains why our legal system (like all others I know of) limits who can be a lawyer, and in particular who can litigate in others’ interest. But if there’s one sector of the legal system that’s genuinely ripe for ... Walter Olson on Reform Law Schools, Don’t Sue Them
Larry Ribstein on The Future of Legal Education
What will legal education be like in the significantly deregulated world I’ve predicted in prior posts? I gave some thought to this question in my recent paper, Practicing Theory. There I pointed out that law schools, and particularly law faculty, have benefited from the same regulation that has benefited lawyers. Although lawyers now complain that ... Larry Ribstein on The Future of Legal Education
Eric Rasmusen on Unauthorized Practice of Law — The Case of Free Advice
It is questionable whether states should have unauthorized practiced of law statutes and bar admission standards based on credentials rather than examinations. A first step, however, is to attack statutes that forbid a non-lawyer from giving free legal advice, whether to friend, family, or just someone who can’t afford all the legal help he needs. ... Eric Rasmusen on Unauthorized Practice of Law — The Case of Free Advice
Gillian Hadfield on Evidence-based Regulation for Law
There is a Missouri statute that makes it a misdemeanor, punishable by $100 fine, for anyone who is not licensed by the Missouri bar to “engage in the practice of law or do law business.” If convicted, violators can be sued by anyone that paid them for their services or by the state of Missouri; ... Gillian Hadfield on Evidence-based Regulation for Law
George Leef on Licensure in the Legal Profession
When Americans think about governmental regulations meant to protect them against harm, they are prone to making two mistakes in judgment: first, they tend to overestimate the benefits that are supposed to result from regulation (including mandatory licensing) and second, they tend to underestimate (and usually to completely overlook) the costs and problems created by ... George Leef on Licensure in the Legal Profession
Thom Lambert on Alternatives to Lawyer Licensing
Let’s start at the very beginning. When analyzing the merits of any regulation — i.e., any rule that disrupts private ordering by threat of force — one should first ask what problem the regulation aims to avert. When it comes to the rules banning sales (and thereby preventing purchases) of legal services by unlicensed individuals, ... Thom Lambert on Alternatives to Lawyer Licensing
Hans Bader on Abolish Law School Requirement, Keep the Bar Exam?
Lawyer licensing should not be completely abolished, but it should be made radically easier and cheaper by abolishing the requirement that lawyers attend law school to sit for the bar exam, and by only requiring passage of the bar exam for those who handle court cases. Legal redress should also be made easier by allowing ... Hans Bader on Abolish Law School Requirement, Keep the Bar Exam?
