Professionalism under the Legal Services Act 2007

Boon, Andrew

doi:10.1080/09695958.2011.580561

Cited by 24 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 54 publications

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“…In contrast, the UK regulatory regime underwent a far-reaching reform with the Legal Services Act 2007, which made it possible for legal advice to be offered by firms that are wholly or partly owned by non-lawyers (Clementi, 2004;Flood, 2012). 21 Lawyers' ethical obligations in this regime are overseen by public regulators, who must authorize any firm that carries on reserved legal activities (Boon, 2010). While the reform's early impact appears to have been modest (Aulakh & Kirkpatrick, 2016), it offers UK incumbents a set of opportunities for organizational experimentation that are not open to their counterparts in the US.…”

Section: The Role Of Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

AI-enabled business models in legal services: from traditional law firms to next-generation law companies?

Armour

Sako

2020

Journal of Professions and Organization

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What will happen to law firms and the legal profession when the use of artificial intelligence (AI) becomes prevalent in legal services? We address this question by considering three related levels of analysis: tasks, business models, and organizations. First, we review AI’s technical capabilities in relation to tasks, to identify contexts where it is likely to replace or augment humans. AI is capable of doing some, but not all, legal tasks better than lawyers and is augmented by multidisciplinary human inputs. Second, we identify new business models for creating value in legal services by applying AI. These differ from law firms’ traditional legal advisory business model, because they require technological (non-human) assets and multidisciplinary human inputs. Third, we analyze the organizational structure that complements the old and new business models: the professional partnership (P2) is well-adapted to delivering the legal advisory business model, but the centralized management, access to outside capital, and employee incentives offered by the corporate form appear better to complement the new AI-enabled business models. Some law firms are experimenting with pursuing new and old business models in parallel. However, differences in complements create conflicts when business models are combined. These conflicts are partially externalized via contracting and segregated and realigned via vertical integration. Our analysis suggests that law firm experimentation with aligning different business models to distinct organizational entities, along with ethical concerns, will affect the extent to which the legal profession will become ‘hybrid professionals’.

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Section: The Role Of Regulationmentioning

confidence: 99%

AI-enabled business models in legal services: from traditional law firms to next-generation law companies?

Armour

Sako

2020

Journal of Professions and Organization

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“…For example, in the medical field, some have argued that the increasing specialization of physicians has led to a fragmented and dehumanized approach to patient care, where individuals are treated as a collection of isolated symptoms rather than as whole persons with complex social, emotional, and spiritual needs (Kleinman, 1988). Similarly, in the legal field, some have raised concerns that the increasing specialization of lawyers has led to a narrow focus on technical expertise at the expense of broader social justice and ethical considerations (Boon, 2010).…”

Section: The Risks Of Hyper-specializationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Professional Identify Formation: History, Practice and Challenges

Sutter

2024

Preprint

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This monograph explores the evolution of professional organizations, identities, and specialization, examining the historical trajectory, key drivers, challenges, and future implications of these interrelated processes. The work traces the shift from generalist occupational collectives to increasingly specialized professional identities and organizations, driven by factors such as the codification of knowledge, societal demands, technological advancements, and governmental interventions. It highlights strategies used by professions like medicine, law, and engineering to balance unity and specialization. The monograph also critically examines issues of professional ethics, social responsibility, and the need for greater diversity, equity, and inclusion in professional identity formation. Looking ahead, the work discusses how hyper-specialization presents both risks of fragmentation and opportunities for innovation, and calls for professional organizations to embrace interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement, and a commitment to addressing complex global challenges. Ultimately, the monograph argues for a more expansive, socially responsive vision for the professions, and outlines educational and institutional reforms needed to support this evolution. The work represents an important synthesis of research on professional identity formation and specialization, and offers valuable insights for educators, organizational leaders, and professionals navigating the complex landscape of 21st century practice.

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“…The government responded by enacting the Legal Services Act, 2007 (LSA), which established a new framework for regulating legal services in E&W. The LSA places a duty on regulators to promote and help realize eight regulatory objectives. Whilst these reflect two ideologiesprofessionalism and consumerism (Boon, 2010;Semple, 2015) the Act does not prioritize between the objectivesall assume equal weighting. Nor does it stipulate the instruments by which legal service providers are to be regulated; the decision to adopt NGR or continue with traditional methods is left to the regulators.…”

Section: Study Context: Regulatory Reform In Legal Servicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

New governance regulation and lawyers: When substantive compliance erodes legal professionalism

Aulakh

Kirkpatrick

2018

Journal of Professions and Organization

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A dominant theme within institutional theory is that organizational responses to regulatory demands will be characterised by decoupling. However, this assumption rests on regulation as a coercive force. The emergence of 'new governance regulation' and the freedom afforded to firms to tailor regulatory demands to local circumstances should, theoretically, foster greater commitment to, achievement of, regulatory goals. Focusing on the responses of solicitor practices in England and Wales to outcome-focused regulation, this paper explores the extent to which the flexibility of NGR triggers substantive compliance. Drawing on multiple data sources, we find that law firms made significant investments in compliance infrastructures and developed strategies to integrate compliance into work structures and day to day activities.Whilst their responses indicate substantive compliance, core regulatory goals were only partially met..

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Professionalism under the Legal Services Act 2007

Abstract: This is the accepted version of the paper.This version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Permanent repository link:

Cited by 24 publications

References 54 publications

AI-enabled business models in legal services: from traditional law firms to next-generation law companies?

AI-enabled business models in legal services: from traditional law firms to next-generation law companies?

Professional Identify Formation: History, Practice and Challenges

New governance regulation and lawyers: When substantive compliance erodes legal professionalism

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