The World Needs More Lawyers

Authors

Shoshana Weissmann

Director, Digital Media; Fellow

Daniel Greenberg

General Counsel, Competitive Enterprise Institute

Luke Wake

Attorney, Pacific Legal Foundation

Braden Boucek

Director of Litigation, Southeastern Legal Foundation

Jonathan Riches

Director of National Litigation, Goldwater Institute

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This report was originally authored for the Regulatory Transparency Project at The Federalist Society.

Executive Summary

The American legal profession, as well as those it serves, would benefit from lowering the barriers to entry to the practice of law. Several licensing barriers unnecessarily contribute to the high cost of legal services, which inhibit access to justice for ordinary Americans. In some respects, legal licensure is categorically distinct from the licensure of other highly regulated professions. This suggests that a particular focus on legal licensure may be appropriate. We therefore explore the implications of modest reforms that would advance the public interest, with an eye to the encouragement of competitive markets in legal services, and the protection and preservation of the fiduciary nature of legal services.

Read the full study here or on the Regulatory Transparency Project’s website.