Legal Mosaic Essays on Legal Delivery

<strong>Legal</strong> <strong>Mosaic</strong>: <strong>Essays</strong> on <strong>Legal</strong> Delivery
Mr. Clementi is not an attorney, and that might be a cause, if not the
proximate cause, of the candor of his assessment. His two-year investigation
revealed several glaring problems in the self-regulated legal
vertical. Sir David certainly understood business and the procurement
of legal services; he was a Chairman of Prudential, plc, one of Britain’s
largest insurance companies, as well as non-executive Director of the
Rio Tinto Group, a huge minerals and mining company. His no-holds
barred evaluation of the legal profession concluded that: (1) a massive
overhaul of the self-regulated legal industry was necessary; (2) interdisciplinary
practice should be sanctioned—meaning that lawyers be
permitted to work with non-lawyers; (3) significant changes were necessary
to restore public confidence in the profession; and (4) the interests
of the consumer must be paramount in fashioning new regulations.
The Government adopted Clementi’s recommendations and took them
even farther, authorizing the creation of “Alternative Business Structures”
(ABS) enabling non-lawyers to invest, share profits, and manage
law firms. This is the best-known portion of the Clementi Report and
its legislative aftermath but it is by no means its centerpiece.
The crux of the <strong>Legal</strong> Services Act of 2007 (the Act), the product of
Clementi’s investigation and ensuing Parliamentary action, is an overhaul
of the rules governing lawyers in England and Wales intended to
serve the public interest and to restore confidence in lawyers. And if
you think this characterization is a matter of subjective interpretation,
consider the title of the Government Report that led to enactment of the
<strong>Legal</strong> Services Act: “The Future of <strong>Legal</strong> Services: Putting Consumers
First.” Then, read the Executive Summary’s introductory paragraphs:
“This White Paper sets out the Government’s proposals for reform of
the regulatory framework for legal services in England and Wales. The
purpose of the changes is to put the consumer first. The Government
has set up a Consumer Panel to advise it as it takes forward reform.
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