Legal services reforms to ‘influence worldwide markets', says IBA
Full implementation of the Legal Services Act 2007 could ‘substantially influence’ legal markets around the world, according to the new president of the International Bar Association.
Akira Kawamura (pictured), partner at Japanese firm Anderson Mori & Tomotsune, last week became the twenty-second IBA president and the first from Japan.
Looking ahead to the coming year, he said he would be observing with great interest the developments in the European legal market following the implementation of the LSA and EU moves to liberalise professional services throughout the continent.
He said: ‘It is possible that the resulting developments may substantively influence the transformation of markets in other jurisdictions that would like to achieve the status of a highly-regarded and independent legal jurisdiction.’
Kawamura told the Gazette that industrial growth in Brazil, Russia, India and China was fuelling dramatic growth in the legal professions of those countries, which he predicted would continue.
‘In each one of those BRIC countries, large and organised law firms are mushrooming and providing their clients with world class legal services, and further increases in cross-border transactions will see the demand for legal services continue to rise,’ he said.
The new president said the global financial crisis had negatively impacted access to justice around the world.
‘This is a widespread problem and the bars and law societies across the globe face the challenge of ensuring that access to justice is not denied to people during these difficult financial times,’ he said.
Comments
A compliment from a lawyer of
A compliment from a lawyer of a foreign nation is very flattering indeed but the reality of the introduction of law firms owned by anyone without a criminal record will be as follows:-
1. Only the very rich will be able to own law firms.
2. Professionalism will be replaced by self-preservation at all levels. Many would say that to a lesser degree this has already happened under the current system in certain areas of the law.
3. Independence will be impossible as the Head of Legal will be in the pocket of the shareholders.
4. Sales and marketing business culture will infect the law even further and create new legal markets which may not benefit society. This has already happened in personal injury, which is the direct result of a weak Publicity Code and allowing business people to get involved in the process.
5. The vast majority of lawyers will lose their confidence as pay, status and conditions spiral to such a level that the masses will not respect them at all. It will difficult for them to stand firm on any principle that conflicts with profit generation and the desire for personal survival
6. Speculative short term investors in law firms will seek to make a killing for short term gain. Didn't the banking crisis teach us anything about business people, even ones educated at Oxbridge.
7. An army of front line call centre advisers will reduce the status of the law even further.
8. Law firms going to the wall will be no longer be a very rare occurance.
The English Legal System in its current form is respected all around the world just like the BBC is in the field of broadcasting. That does not mean that the law or the BBC should not be reformed but it should only be reformed in such a way that preserves the fundamental principles that underpin such organisations - independence and the rule of law.
The idea that legal services can be delivered to the public in the same way that retail shops offer their goods and services is one of the more ridiculus ideas that have been promoted by the reformers.
The following should be preserved:-
a) The independence of the legal profession. This means that lawyers should not be controlled by third parties who are not legal professionals and whose only interest in getting involved in the law is to make money.
b) The high status of lawyers. This can only be done by paying lawyers high salaries in order to attract the best quality people to do the job.
c) The legal education of lawyers should ensure that the end product of legal training still is confident, well educated individuals who have the character to make a stand and uphold the rule of law and professional standards.
The following should be reinstated:-
i) A total ban on referral fees.
Oversupply of lawyers should be halted by reducing the number of legal courses.
It is not too late for the current government to reverse the previous governments policy and prevent ABSs going ahead and thus prevent a major error of judgment from turning a respected legal system into the broadcasting equivalent of Box News.
Entirely correct!
Entirely correct!