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13 July 2018 / Bradford C. Brown
Issue: 7801 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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Will ‘Rule of Code’ usurp Rule of Law?

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US lawyer Bradford C. Brown reflects on the decentralisation of law & the rise of the legal services business

  • Building a law business as opposed to a law practice.

For many years, lawyers have benefited from a structure that protects the practice of law from market forces—an ‘artificial moat’ around the practice of law, as described by legal thinker Ken Grady in his article, ‘Our confusion over what is a “lawyer”’ (The Algorithmic Society, 2018). Lawyering is a profession where in the early days, like an artisan, junior lawyers worked as apprentices to learn the craft under a seasoned lawyer, which created the notion of a guild. Inward facing Bar associations formed as fraternities of trades people, that—along with state licensing—limited competition.

Gradually, the law profession began requiring different skill sets as firms globalised into more businesslike structures. Yet law firms are still restricted by the rules that govern the profession of law, for example, those governing how a lawyer or law firm can market or advertise. Major

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
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