Tesco Law and Tesco Lawyers: Will our Needs Change if the Market Develops?

Authors

  • Avrom Sherr Univeristy of London - Institute of Advanced Study
  • Simon Thomson Univeristy of London - Institute of Advanced Study

Keywords:

Legal Services Act 2007, Legal Services Market, Alternative Business Structure, Tesco Law, Regulation, Legal Education and Training Review, Barrister, Solicitor, Paralegal, Deprofessionalisation, Mercado de los Servicios Legales, Estructura de Negocio

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine how recent regulatory changes, and the on-going effects of the global economic crisis, have affected legal services in England and Wales, and asks if there are, consequently, “too many lawyers”. The Legal Services Act 2007 introduced new regulatory priorities, placing greater emphasis on competition within a market for legal services, and introducing “Alternative Business Structures”, which enable non-lawyers to own or manage bodies providing legal services, or to carry out reserved legal activities within a licensed body. The paper speculates about the effects of a changing market, illustrated with emerging examples. Whether or not there are too many lawyers depends on who is regarded as a lawyer, what tasks a lawyer should carry out, the structure of the market for legal services, and the needs of legal "consumers".

El objetivo de este artículo es analizar cómo los cambios recientes en la regulación y los efectos continuados de la crisis económica global, han afectado a los servicios legales en Inglaterra y Gales, y cuestiona si, consecuentemente, hay “demasiados abogados”. La ley conocida como “Legal Services Act 2007” introdujo nuevas prioridades reguladoras, otorgando mayor énfasis a la competencia en el mercado de los servicios legales, e introduciendo “Estructuras Alternativas de Negocio”, lo que permitía, sin ser abogado, poseer o gestionar empresas de servicios legales, o desarrollar actividades legales reservadas a un órgano colegiado. El artículo especula sobre los efectos de un mercado cambiante, a través de ejemplos emergentes. Si hay demasiados abogados o no, depende de lo que se entiende como abogado, las tareas que un abogado debería desarrollar, la estructura del mercado de servicios legales, y las necesidades de los “consumidores” legales.

DOWNLOAD THIS PAPER FROM SSRN: http://ssrn.com/abstract=2293660

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Published

27-07-2013

How to Cite

Sherr, A. and Thomson, S. (2013) “Tesco Law and Tesco Lawyers: Will our Needs Change if the Market Develops?”, Oñati Socio-Legal Series, 3(3), pp. 595–610. Available at: https://opo.iisj.net/index.php/osls/article/view/293 (Accessed: 22 November 2024).

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 3 (2013): How many lawyers are too many lawyers: perspectives, context and place

Section

Thematic Articles

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