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Will ‘Rule of Code’ usurp Rule of Law?

13 July 2018 / Bradford C. Brown
Issue: 7801 / Categories: Features , Profession , Technology
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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

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Muckle LLP—Rachael Chapman

Sports, education and charities practice welcomes senior associate

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Ellisons—Carla Jones

Partner and head of commercial litigation joins in Chelmsford

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Freeths—Louise Mahon

Firm strengthens Glasgow corporate practice with partner hire

NEWS
One in five in-house lawyers suffer ‘high’ or ‘severe’ work-related stress, according to a report by global legal body, the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC)
The Legal Ombudsman’s (LeO’s) plea for a budget increase has been rejected by the Law Society and accepted only ‘with reluctance’ by conveyancers
Overcrowded prisons, mental health hospitals and immigration centres are failing to meet international and domestic human rights standards, the National Preventive Mechanism (NPM) has warned
Two speedier and more streamlined qualification routes have been launched for probate and conveyancing professionals
Workplace stress was a contributing factor in almost one in eight cases before the employment tribunal last year, indicating its endemic grip on the UK workplace
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