Open AccessAre Lawyers Regulatable?
Author(s) -
Duncan Webb
Publication year - 2008
Publication title -
alberta law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1925-8356
pISSN - 0002-4821
DOI - 10.29173/alr344
Subject(s) - enforcement , corporate governance , legal profession , law and economics , law , political science , business , sociology , finance
There is a long-standing debate surrounding whether the legal profession can be regulated, and if it can, to what degree self-regulation or co-regulation would be appropriate. This article focuses on the obstacles facing the regulation of the legal profession, such as: the nature of lawyers themselves and the types of services they provide; drafting challenges and the influence of lawyers on rule-making; self-governance; self-discipline; and reporting or enforcement challenges. The author suggests that these barriers may lead to ineffective regulation regardless of which model of regulation is used.