ABSTRACT
What impression does legal work conjure up? Is it the courtroom, with lawyers resplendent in gowns and wigs, passionately arguing the merits of the case? Is it the solicitor’s office, the solicitor sitting behind a large mahogany desk, a framed practising certificate on the wall, patiently explaining the mechanisms of making a will? Is it the City firm of solicitors advising on another corporate take-over, in altogether more modern office surroundings, with atrium, plants and soft-toned furnishings, yet with the legal tomes carefully displayed? All those images are those of the professional lawyer. They all exist. Yet the vast majority of legal services are in effect a free market-they do not have to be provided by a qualified professional. The amount of legal business reserved to qualified legal professionals is very small (appearing in certain courts and a small amount of paper transactions). It is perfectly legal for your neighbour to advise you over the garden fence on your dispute with your holiday company or on your company’s legal problems-whether it is wise for you to rely on that advice is the essence of the professional’s claim on the market.
