Lawyers protest deregulation of UK legal industry

A protest outside London’s High Court yesterday saw lawyers handing out cans of baked beans branded with the slogan “Legal services by supermarkets is as ridiculous as lawyers selling beans”. The protesters are campaigning against the Legal Services Act, which is set to make the UK one of the most deregulated legal services markets in the world by next October. Law firms will be able to raise capital by floating on the stock market or seeking private equity, and firms will be able to create new businesses by bringing in non-lawyers, such as accountants, as partners. The changes are intended to make legal services more accessible to consumers, and lawyers in smaller high street firms face the prospect of competition from new entrants using efficiencies of scale to achieve cheaper legal fees. Many lawyers are concerned that the lower fees will come at the cost of quality and personalized service.

Lawyers protest deregulation of UK legal industry ft.com Thu, Sep 23, 2010