ABSTRACT
ABSTRACT This article offers a new perspective on how to determine whether barriers to
practicing law are appropriate. It identifies a connection between those barriers and the
role of legal services providers (‘lawyers’) in permitting individuals to obtain their basic
political and economic rights in a liberal democracy. Democratic values require making
legal services as equally available as possible to all citizens, while liberal values dictate that
each individual has access in order to enforce human rights, compete in a market economy,
and engage in a legal system grounded in the rule of law. Liberal and democratic values
therefore require the lowest barriers to becoming a lawyer, consistent with the minimum
requirements of competence and the recognition that the level of competence required will
vary according to the type of legal services provided and the segment of the market served.
Any contrary regulatory approach requires strong empirical support to overcome the
presumption of low barriers that liberal and democratic values create. Accordingly, the
article rejects as unpersuasive arguments for high barriers based on promoting the public
good, avoiding rent-seeking, protecting consumers, advancing judicial efficiency, redressing
lawyer misconduct, and preserving lawyers’ high incomes.
