Open AccessRegulating the Market for Legal Services
Author(s) -
Michael J. Trebilcock
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alberta law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-8356
pISSN - 0002-4821
DOI - 10.29173/alr343
Subject(s) - accountability , market regulation , government regulation , business , welfare , consumer welfare , legal service , perspective (graphical) , law and economics , social welfare , public economics , economics , law , market economy , political science , china , artificial intelligence , computer science
The regulation of the provision of professional services should be viewed from a consumer protection or welfare rationale. The legal profession should devote fewer of its regulatory resources to input regulation and instead, focus more of its resources on output regulation. A bottom line, output-oriented regulatory regime is what the consumer welfare perspective demands. While there are numerous advantages to the self-regulation of the legal profession, this self-regulation should not be absolute. Rather than moving completely away from the notion of self-regulation or to a form of co-regulation, the current regulatory regime should be tempered with appropriate public accountability mechanisms.