Legal Services Market Research Articles

Hierarchy and Stratification in the Israeli Legal Profession

Hierarchy and stratification characterize labor markets all over the Western world. Racial, ethnic, and national minorities; women; and those belonging to lower socioeconomic classes are underrepresented in prestigious positions and overrepresented in lower-paying jobs in proportion to their percentage in the general population. Even when employed in similar positions, members of devalued social groups earn lower wages and are promoted less frequently. The legal profession is no different. Decades of research have clearly shown that the market for legal services follows the same patterns that determine the outcomes in other domains of social and economic life (see, e.g., Carson 2004). Yet in the spirit of Tolstoy's famous maxim, while all egalitarian labor markets are alike, each hierarchical market is stratified in its own way. Stratification is based on numerous distinctive characteristics such as the legal profession's structure, size, and degree of homogeneity, as well as the regulations governing it and the legal culture it exists in. Likewise, factors related to the general social structure—such as the stratification in broader society and the social role of the legal profession—also affect stratification within the legal profession. In this paper we seek to contribute to the literature on hierarchy and stratification within the legal profession through an in-depth examination of the patterns of inequality in the Israeli legal profession.

Cost-Sharing in Civil Justice

As an economic factor affecting access to justice, the cost of justice naturally constitutes an element of judicial reform. It is the overall deconstruction of the cost of civil justice, rather than partial observation and analysis confined to litigation costs, that can legitimize the sharing of court and litigation costs and clarify the demarcation between public and private costs. This first-order rule of cost-sharing is intended to establish a balance between the state’s investment of public resources in the judicial system and the costs borne by the litigant. The second-order rule of cost-sharing centers on the distribution of litigation costs among litigants. This requires not only the setting up of the goal of just and equitable sharing of litigation costs, but also the overall consideration of the adjustment function of the cost mechanism in litigation and pursuit of the general improvement of the justice system. The third-order cost-sharing rule should focus on giving full play to the legal services market and social organizations in sharing the cost of litigation. Its success will depend on the development of professional ethics and on legal regulation.

The Integration of Law into Global Business Solutions: The Rise, Transformation, and Potential Future of the Big Four Accountancy Networks in the Global Legal Services Market

Using a unique data set comprised of original research of both the corporate Web sites of the Big Four—PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY—and their affiliated law firms, as well as archival material from the legal and accountancy press, this article documents the rise and transformation of the Big Four legal service lines since the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, it demonstrates that there are good reasons to believe that these sophisticated players will be even more successful in penetrating the corporate legal services market in the decades to come, as that market increasingly matures in a direction that favors the integration of law into a wider category of business solutions that these globally integrated multidisciplinary practices now champion. We conclude with some preliminary observations about the implications of the reemergence of the Big Four legal networks for the legal profession.

The Formation of Advocates’ Monopoly in the French Republic

The reforms of the market of professional legal aid in any country are intended to regulate and establish «the rules of the game», which will level the risks for the population and the state that arise due to poorquality legal aid. The consolidation of the legal market based on the bar (advocates’ monopoly) is a very common phenomenon in Europe, and in France in particular. The purpose of the article is to examine the experience of reforming the market of professional legal assistance and the establishment of the advocates’ monopoly in France. The article analyzes the impact of historical events and the socio-economic context on formation of the mentioned institution. For Russia, standing on the threshold of the reform of the market of professional legal services, it is important to take into account the international experience in order to avoid possible negative consequences. The author identifis the key stages of the development of the French bar, from the Middle ages to the present day, studies the circumstances that predetermined the formation of the advocates’ monopoly in France. It is concluded that its formation was carried out taking into account the main purpose of the bar – the provision of legal assistance to those in need.

Rebooting the cab rank rule as a limited universal service obligation

ABSTRACTThis article critically examines the value and scope of the cab rank rule in England and Australia. Despite the laudable non-discrimination principle underpinning it, the cab rank rule is subject to so many exceptions it is debatable whether the rule has any effect, positive or negative, on access to justice. On the other hand, when the rule is followed, it has the potential to unnecessarily distort the legal services market. Despite legitimate questions about its continued relevance, the paper argues that the rationale for the cab rank rule remains critically important in an age where most people are unable to afford private legal representation and are ineligible for public legal assistance. The cab rank rule could play a greater role in delivering access to justice for all, by ‘rebooting’ it as a limited universal service obligation to provide legal representation for all who genuinely need it but cannot obtain it privately. In practice this would involve the creation of a compartmentalised public cab rank in which all practising lawyers dedicate a small percentage of their billable hours to representing eligible clients for a regulated fee.

The Business of Law: Evolution of the Legal Services Market

The legal services market is changing. This change has been driven by various factors through the years: expansion of in-house legal departments, globalization (through mergers and outsourcing), technological advances, and the rise of alternative legal service providers. This paper explores these factors in isolation—i.e., discussing each factor separately and distinctly from other factors. Then, this paper seeks to understand these factors together, as products of a legal services market that is evolving from the growth stage into the mature stage. Part I summarizes the early history of law firms, including the rise of the Cravath System through the Golden Era of the 1960s. Part II examines several factors affecting the legal services market, specifically: expansion of in-house legal departments, globalization (through mergers and outsourcing), technological advances, and the rise of alternative legal service providers. Finally, Part III discusses how these factors can also be understood together, as products of a maturing legal services market.

The Integration of Law into Global Business Solutions: The Rise, Transformation, and Potential Future of the Big Four Accountancy Networks in the Global Legal Services Market

Using a unique data set comprised of original research of both the corporate Web sites of the Big Four — PwC, Deloitte, KPMG, and EY — and their affiliated law firms, as well as archival material from the legal and accountancy press, this article documents the rise and transformation of the Big Four legal service lines since the enactment of the Sarbanes Oxley Act of 2002. Moreover, it demonstrates that there are good reasons to believe that these sophisticated players will be even more successful in penetrating the corporate legal services market in the decades to come, as that market increasingly matures in a direction that favors the integration of law into a wider category of business solutions that these globally integrated multidisciplinary practices now champion. We conclude with some preliminary observations about the implications of the reemergence of the Big Four legal networks for the legal profession.

The Ecology of Organizational Growth: Chinese Law Firms in the Age of Globalization

In the global legal services market, China has some of the youngest law firms but also some of the largest. In the early 21st century, several Chinese law firms have grown into mega law firms, with thousands of lawyers in a large number of domestic and overseas offices. This study uses the case of Chinese law firms to develop an ecological theory of organizational growth following the Chicago school of sociology. The authors argue that firms coexist and interact in an ecology consisting of other firms in the same industry. These firms occupy different ecological positions and generate various processes of interaction with one another. In their organizational growth, four species of Chinese law firms (global generalists, elite boutiques, local coalitions, and space rentals) have engaged in a variety of ecological processes, including competition, symbiosis, accommodation, assimilation, purification, and proletarianization. By locating firms in a social space and investigating the spatial and processual pat...

Mapping the Ecology of China’s Corporate Legal Sector: Globalization and Its Impact on Lawyers and Society

AbstractGlobalization is rapidly changing the landscape of law practice in China, especially its corporate legal sector. This article reports on the preliminary findings of the China research of the Globalization, Lawyers, and Emerging Economies (GLEE) Project—a comparative study that examines how globalization is reshaping the market for legal services in important emerging economies and how these developments are contributing to the transformation of the political economy in these countries and beyond. Adopting an ecological approach, which examines how different segments of the legal system interact with one another in complex ways, this article maps the corporate core, international linkages, and domestic contexts of China’s globalizing corporate legal sector and discusses its impact on lawyers and society.

Legal Translation Training – A Way Forward for Aspiring Lawyers in a Clogged Job Market?

In a competitive and congested job market, this paper examines new career opportunities open to linguistically minded young lawyers. Globalization has led to a soaring demand for the translation of legal documents, and we are now at a fork in the road – on the one hand bespoke automated systems are able to handle large volumes for discovery and information purposes translation, whilst on the other expert lawyer-linguists are needed to work on major cases, multilingual legislation and at international courts. Market stimulus and moves to professionalize legal translation have led to lawyer-linguist training being offered jointly by law and language faculties. Examples of innovative education programs will be discussed, as will various interpretations of the role of ‘lawyer-linguist’. Legal translation is the ultimate legal and linguistic challenge – a gauntlet waiting to be picked up by a new generation as part of a fully globalized mature legal services market.

How Are Legal Service Providers in the United Kingdom Meeting Demands of 'More-for-Less' in the Legal Services Market?

This Paper analyses innovations being made by traditional law firms to business practices- whether to billing practices, client initiatives, use of technology and models of operating and how these serve to meet increasing client demands. Where relevant the impact of new entrants to the market are considered to provide context and stimulate debate.

Marriage of convenience or a match made in heaven? Collaboration between a Law School Clinic and a Commercial Law Firm

The cost of clinical legal education courses has always been a challenge to law schools. In the last 40 years clinicians have developed and trialed many different innovations in clinical law, in response to increased student demand for clinical experience, and greater pressure on the legal services market. Two common models are the in house clinic and the externship placement. This article explores the idea of a ‘reverse externship’ – with private solicitors coming into an in house clinic to assist in the supervision of students on placement. It tracks the development and implementation of this initiative, and reports on both the practical challenges and the pedagogical benefits that we encountered<strong>.</strong>

Preparing for the Sinicization of the Western Legal Tradition: The Case of Peking University School of Transnational Law

This essay was presented at a November 20-21, 2015 Asia Law Institute symposium at Shanghai Jiao Tong University on Legal Education in Asia: From Imitation to Innovation. The symposium was co-sponsored by National University of Singapore Faculty of Law. The essay is about a law school whose mission presumes that (i) the U.S. and U.K. law firms that today dominate the worldwide market for complex cross-border legal services are subject to being displaced; (ii) the prevailing view of the inevitable worldwide harmonization of law around Anglo-American principles and the Western legal tradition is mistaken; and (iii) the world only now is beginning to experience the growing influence of China and other non-Western traditions in multinational business transactions and disputes and in shaping the practices, laws and principles by which they will be governed going forward. The mission of the law school is to contribute to the growth of a Chinese legal profession capable of supplying the sophisticated legal services and leadership essential to the advanced, internationalized economy and civil society emerging in China and of competing ably and successfully with the foreign-based multinational law firms that currently dominate this work. The key to the law school’s success is a combined post-baccalaureate Juris Doctor/Juris Master program taught by a distinguished multinational faculty that blends American and China law curriculums and meaningful exposure to EU law with rigorous case study and interactive Socratic questioning. The law school is Peking University’s School of Transnational Law (“STL”) in Shenzhen, China. The popular perception of STL upon its establishment in 2008 was essentially the opposite of what we just have described: STL was seen as an elite American law school in China whose faculty was composed largely of visiting American scholars and practitioners and whose singular ambition, apart from the placement of its graduates in leading American law firms, was full accreditation by the American Bar Association (“ABA”). As STL itself stated in its submission to the ABA in support of ABA accreditation of foreign law schools, one of its principal goals was to prepare Chinese law students “to be American lawyers.” This is the story of how this unique law school in China evolved into a leading law school for China, establishing new standards for global legal education rather than simply following old ones. Part I discusses the early years of STL and its pursuit of ABA accreditation. Part II explores the realignment of STL’s priorities in the aftermath of the ABA’s decision not to accredit foreign law schools and in light of legal and economic developments under way in Shenzhen, the Pearl River Delta, China and the rest of the non-West. Part III examines the implications of the realignment for STL’s China law Juris Master curriculum; Part IV the growing synergies between STL’s China law and American law curriculums; and Part V the expanded notion of “lawyering skills” required by STL’s innovative curriculum. Part VI concludes with an explanation of why ABA accreditation of STL isn’t necessary after all.

How the Consumer-Focused Innovations in Legal Services Market Invigorate Access to Justice

How the Consumer-Focused Innovations in Legal Services Market Invigorate Access to Justice

The Outpost Office: How International Law Firms Approach the China Market

How are international law firms faring in China? Drawing on 2013 data, this article presents the first comprehensive overview of the field, including information about the global mix of players and variation in market niche. Three variables—years present in China, global strategy, and level of localization—help explain why some China practices grow bigger than others. Overall, however, there is a great deal of convergence on one business model: an outpost office with a median size of eleven lawyers responsible for under 5 percent of worldwide revenue. The common experience of stagnation following market entry illustrates the strength of hype, the constraints of partnership, and the persistent power of the Chinese state to shape the legal services market. At the same time, the rarity of market exit reflects perceptions that a China presence is a valuable symbol of global commitment and a worthwhile bet on future growth.

Sposoby konkurowania kancelarii prawnych z obszaru Wielkopolski

Wobec intensywnych zmian ilościowych po stronie podażowej zachodzących na polskim rynku usług prawnych, kancelarie prawne są coraz częściej zmuszone do konkurowania o klientów. W artykule przedstawiona została istota konkurencyjności kancelarii prawnych, wskazano również główne czynniki konkurencyjności kancelarii prawnych. Opisane wyniki przeprowadzonego przez autora w 2014 r. badania empirycznego wśród właścicieli kancelarii prawnych z obszaru Wielkopolski pozwalają stwierdzić, że prawnicy coraz częściej dostrzegają rolę jakości świadczonych usług jako głównego źródła budowania przewagi konkurencyjnej.

Razing the Patent Bar

Innovation is vital to economic prosperity, and lawmakers consequently strive to craft patent laws that efficiently promote the discovery and commercialization of new inventions. Commentators have long recognized that legal fees are a significant cost affecting innovation, but remarkably a crucial driver of these costs has largely escaped scrutiny: the Patent Bar. Every year innovators spend billions of dollars on legal fees for representation in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), where inventors apply for patents and potential infringers seek to invalidate issued patents. Supply in this essential legal services market, however, is sharply limited because patent law requires innovators to select representation from the ranks of the Patent Bar, which only extends membership to persons with extensive technical educations, like engineering degrees. Although this educational requirement bars entry in a market that is critical to innovation, scholars, lawmakers, and commentators have largely ignored this feature of the Patent Bar. This Article begins to fill this void and demonstrates that the technical education requirement of the Patent Bar lacks economic justification. The Article explains that a tradeoff lies at the heart of efficient occupational licensing: Licensing creates harmful barriers to entry in regulated markets, but can also improve the quality of services offered in that market, thus helping those markets to function more effectively. In the case of the Patent Bar, however, service quality improvements have not been – and likely cannot be – shown to justify the deleterious market effects. Paradoxically, the USPTO’s misguided efforts to ensure service quality actually threaten to undermine innovation by raising the cost of patent acquisition and other services in the USPTO. Accordingly, the Article proposes that the labor market for representation in the USPTO be expanded by making lawyers without technical educations eligible to join the Patent Bar. The Article details barriers to this proposal, including the revolving-door relationship between the USPTO and the Patent Bar. In light of these concerns, the Article recommends avenues for effecting the proposed reforms.

Régulation de la qualité des services juridiques et gouvernance de la profession d’avocat

Le mouvement actuel de dérégulation du marché des services juridiques s’exerce indistinctement sur l’ensemble des services produits par les avocats, dont la variété n’est donc pas prise en compte. À l’encontre d’une telle conception, nous considérons des services juridiques hétérogènes. Nous analysons cette hétérogénéité à partir de la classification économique des biens de confiance, de recherche et d’expérience, et en tirons les implications régulatoires. Nous montrons ainsi que les mécanismes de marché fondés sur la réputation individuelle des avocats sont suffisants pour réguler l’offre des services ayant des caractéristiques de recherche ou d’expérience. En revanche, une réglementation est nécessaire pour assurer la qualité des services juridiques caractérisables comme des biens de confiance. Cette réglementation peut alors être produite soit par autorégulation, soit par hétérorégulation, en fonction des coûts et avantages relatifs de ces deux modes de production du droit professionnel.

Speculative fees and their impact on access to justice: German experiences

The paper explores the long road to the Federal Constitutional Court's 2006 landmark decision on the unconstitutionality of the century-old prohibition of output-based remuneration of lawyers, analyses the court's ruling and outlines the regulation of speculative fee agreements that is now in place in Germany. Another focus of the paper is an analysis of how the change has affected the German legal services market, drawing on empirical research on the subject carried out between 2006 and 2014.

Appraising Elements of the Jackson Costs Reforms

Although attempting to set right inefficiencies endemic in the legal services market, the Jackson Reforms on Costs appear to have arrived at many ‘second best’ solutions. In the present essay, I appraise three elements of the Reforms being Costs Management, Qualified One Way Cost Shifting (QOCS) and Damages Based Agreements (DBAs).