1. The Decline of Professionalism in Law?
Ian King
Salford Business School
University of Salford
SLSA Annual Conference
Lancaster University
6 April 2016

2. Introduction and Aims Paper based on PhD research
Early stages – still gathering evidence
What does professionalism in law mean in 2016?
Do traditional sociological models of professionalism need to be redefined
More questions than answers!

3. Sociology of Professions - Functionalism
Society a complex system whose parts work together to produce stability – Durkheim, Parsons et al
Professionals such as lawyers perform a positive role as agents of social control
Altruism reflected in voluntary commitment to highest moral standards and principle of service above profit
Professions a necessary deviation from the free market model to protect people from consequences of their own ignorance

4. Sociology of Professions - Functionalism
“the sociologist must regard the activities of the legal profession as one of the very important mechanisms by which a relative balance of stability is maintained in a dynamic and rather precariously balanced society”
(Parsons, A Sociologist Looks at the Legal Profession (1952))

5. Sociology of Professions – Interactionism/Rationalism
“By the late 1960s, this benign conceptualisation had been largely displaced by the neo-Weberian perspective which viewed professions as middle class projects to win exclusive rights to practise …. and achieve high social status and enhanced income”
(Sommerlad, Young, Vaughan & Harris-Short, The Futures of Legal Education and the Legal Profession (2015))

6. Sociology of Professions – Interactionism/Rationalism
Modern society founded on rationalisation according to principles of efficiency and technical knowledge – Weber.
Rejects functionalist view due to overemphasis on consensus and agreement – ignores reality of conflicts of interests
Professionalization seen as aggressive pursuit of market monopoly, forcing up prices and lowering standards

7. Professional Traits
Altruism – service to community interest rather than individual self-interest
Provision of training and education
Testing competence of members
Adherence to a self-regulated professional code of conduct and ethics
High degree of generalised and systematic knowledge
Barber (1963), Millerson (1964)

8. Professionals as Controllers
Trait theory falls into error of accepting professionals own definitions of themselves
A profession is not an occupation but a means of controlling an occupation
Key characteristic of professional is control over client
Professional (collegiate) control – producer defines the needs of the consumer and the manner in which those needs are catered for
(Johnson,1972)

9. Lawyers as Translators
Lawyers principal function is as translators rather than controllers
Everyday discourse of client problems translated by lawyers into legal discourse
Lawyers also creators of the language into which they translate
Lawyers are conceptive ideologists, perfectly attuned to the typical problems of the middle classes
(Cain, 1980)

10. Legal Professionalism Challenged
1980s and 1990s wide acceptance of view that lawyers maintain monopoly to advance professional self-interest
Commitment to public service and ethics viewed as a sham – ideological propaganda
Ruling elites lose social mandate if extract too much from position of power
Consumer demand for change, general loss of confidence in legal profession combined with neo-liberal faith in markets over professional monopoly

11. Legal Professionalism Challenged
Loss of control over legal services market e.g. licensing of licensed conveyancers to provide conveyancing & probate, granting of rights of audience to CILEx
Withdrawal of legal aid funding leading to increased reliance upon voluntary sector
Enabling non-lawyer owned providers of legal services – ABS
Removal of powers of self-regulation
De-mystification of legal knowledge – internet provides wide and free access to law

12. Is There a Legal Profession?
Do professional traits still apply?
Can lawyers still be regarded as social controllers or translators?
Classical professionalism of high street general practice in (terminal?) decline
Law Society (2016) – by 2020 may be a significant reduction in viable traditional firms
By contrast, firms reliant on corporate patronage (consumer defines own needs and manner in which they are met (Johnson, 1972)) have thrived
Increasingly diverse, fragmented “profession” – growth of large corporate firms and niche practices

13. Legal Professionalism Redefined?
Lawyers operate on ordinary commercial basis – professionals or entrepreneurs?
Increasing competition with other providers of legal services and between lawyers – rivals not fellow professionals?
Commodification of professional legal services – a product to be marketed and price tagged (Evetts, 2015)
Is law no longer a profession, a distinct type of profession or does professionalism need to be redefined?