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19 Prof. Law. 1 (2008-2009)
Issue 2

handle is hein.journals/proflw19 and id is 29 raw text is: Regulation of the Legal Profession in the United States and the Future of Global Law Practice Anthony E. Davis This paper will address three questions: 1. What are the underlying goals and distinc- tive features of the new regulatory schemes in England and Australia and how are they similar or dissimilar to the regulatory goals in the United States? 2. How might U.S.-based global law firms respond if lawyer regulation in the United States does not change in ways that can ac- commodate the new English and Australian regimes? 3. What are the implications of these devel- opments for the U.S. regulatory environ- ment and are there ways in which U.S. lawyer regulation could adapt to these new developments? What are the underlying goals and distinctive features of the new regulatory schemes in England and Australia and how are they similar or dissimi- lar to the regulatory goals in the United States? Regulatory Objectives is a defined term in the first section of the English Legal Services Act 2007. The objectives listed are: (a) protecting and promoting the public interest; (b) supporting the constitutional principle of the rule of law; (c) improving access to justice; (d) protecting and promoting the interests of consumers; (e) promoting competition in the provision of services with subsection (2); (f) encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession; Anthony E. Davis is a partner with Hinshaw & Culbertson, LLP in New York, N.Y. (g) increasing public understanding of the citizen's legal rights and duties; (h) promoting and maintaining adherence to the professional principles. Seven of these nine principles are entirely consistent with those to which every regulator of lawyers in the U.S. would aspire for their individual jurisdictions (even if the language used is slightly unfamiliar). The two goals that need to be specially identified and understood because the English and Australian regulators relied heavily on these concepts are: (d) protecting and promoting the interests of consum- ers; and (e) promoting competition in the provision of services ... It is important to realize that even though the approach of the new English and Austra- lian regulatory systems in connection with these two principles is very different from the approach used in the U.S.-and may even seem shocking- in the whole, these regulators have similar underly- ing goals, including, inter alia, protecting clients and the public and improving access to justice. What is the significance of (d) protecting and promoting the interests of consumers? The English legislators who established these principles were interested in providing consumers with two distinct benefits: increasing their options, especially if do- ing so might reduce their costs, and seeing to it that the disciplinary structure was focused on redressing consumer complaints against lawyers. This prin- ciple is designed in part to insure that regulators oversee the profession's level of service, primar- ily to give clients redress when their lawyers fall short-and only secondarily to discipline lawyers for violating rules. (Continued on page 8)

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