A crisis of professional self-regulation - the example of the solictors profession

In recent years self-regulation by the solicitors’ profession may be described as being in crisis. Failures can be seen at all levels, from the appropriate resolution of low-level complaints, to protecting the public from dishonest and other seriously miscreant solicitors. The Law Society has shifted its focus of attention in a variety of ways, but few of its efforts to date have made a significant difference. This article summarises some of the key issues which frame the crisis and attempts to resolve it.