The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

APRIL 1989

in that it restricts choice and may inhibit cost effectiveness. Res- triction should only be allowed to remain in place if the public interest requires it and should extend no further than the public interest calls for. The onus is on those who support restrictions to justify them. Customers for legal services should be able to exercise choice according to their perception of value for money whether in terms of particular quality or of price. Suppliers ought to compete as they each choose on price alone or in terms of other marketing strategies. They must be able to advertise in order to market their services effectively". To many in this room, that would sound completely alien and contrary to our understanding of what constitutes a profession and the delivery of professional services. Let me quote to you from the Restrictive Practices Commission Report on the Accountancy Pro- fession in Ireland: — "The Commission is strongly of the view that competition between suppliers of professional services as with suppliers of goods and services is desirable as being in the public interest. Com- petition in charges is likely to foster changes in the methods and costs of providing the service, resulting in the achievement of greater efficiency without reducing the quality of the service. Established professionals may become less complacent, the inefficient and the incompetent may be forced to improve or cease practice, and new entrants are likely to be encouraged to become established". WHAT IS A PROFESSION? George Bernard Shaw asserted that all professionals are a conspiracy against the laity and it may be that Governments are now tending to agree with him. It certainly seems to me that the heyday of the liberal professions which probably stems back to the middle of the last Century, may be coming to a close. There have been many definit- ions of what constitutes a profes- sion but I like to think that one of the distinguishing factors is that the primary objective is not just to earn a living but also to take pride

in the standard of skills and knowledge and to have a sense of responsibility to the general public, so that professional bodies such as the Law Society concentrate on ensuring that members are properly educated, before being admitted to practice, and that education is continued during professional life by appropriate Courses; that proper standards of conduct are maintained and that disciplinary procedures are available to ensure this. SELF REGULATION What seems to be a developing view is that restrictions imposed by a self regulating profession interfere with the market mechan- ism and that the predominant requirement is that Government set minimum standards in any area of service in the interests of achieving the cheapest price for the delivery of such services leaving it to the customer/client to decide whether he wishes to pay more for a higher quality or standard. Are the limits of self regulation to be redefined? The argument has been made, and by me where I have thought it appropriate, that if areas that were reserved to our profession are to be open to others, then why should we subject ourselves to a strict system of self regulation; why not abandon our standards, why not liquidate the Law Society and accept the minimum of standards of conduct and quality imposed by the Govern- ment? We hope we do not have to proceed on that route. What we have done over the years is to seek to improve not just the performance but the image of the profession. Not being consumer orientated, many of our members have not appreciated that in many ways our public face is our complaints handling procedure, and also our ability to provide Solicitors who will take actions against their collea- gues for negligence in appropriate cases. In recent years, I believe we have greatly improved the human face of our complaints procedures by not any longer insisting on a written complaint but being prepared to give interviews and let people make their case across a table. In my view this putting of a human face on our procedures has improved this aspect of our image greatly.

1992 The theme of this Annual Con- ference is 1992, the Single Market, and all its implications. The Society will shortly be subscribing to JUSTIS which is an on-line European law. database service. Access will be via a terminal in our Library and the searches will be made by our library staff. On this will be available EC legislation and case law and also the up-to-date position on the progress of measures contained in the Commission's 1985 White Paper on the completion of the Internal Market which should be a great advantage to the profession. In the light of the EC Directive on the mutual recognition of Higher Education Diplomas, and in the light of the anticipated recom- mendations of the Fair Trade Com- mission Report on the Legal Profession which is expected shortly, I think we will have to look at the state of the profession and the education of those members joining it and practising within it. MERGER OF PROFESSIONAL LAW SCHOOLS I have no doubt in my own mind, but I must express this as a personal opinion, that the Law Schools of the Law Society and the King's Inn should be brought together and a common training course developed. I like the idea of all graduates of this School spending a period of at least a year in a Solicitors office and thereafter those who wish to practice exclusively in the Courts doing so by an appropriate period of devilling. A logical consequence of this and one much needed in the con- text of the European Reciprocity legislation will be a much easier transfer process between the two branches of the Profession. In Scotland, a Solicitor who has been actively practising for three years will be automatically admitted to the Faculty and an Advocate can transfer similarly. TRANSFER BETWEEN BRANCHES OF THE PROFESSION Under the EC Directive on the mutual recognition of Diplomas, it is likely that the Law Society will offer an adaptation period of three years whereby a lawyer from

(Contd. on pagm 172)

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