The British government outlined a radical reform program for the legal system Monday that could for the first time feature law firms owned by outsider investors or even listed on the stock market. It would also allow lawyers to go into partnership with other professionals.
Lord Falconer, the lord chancellor and secretary of state for constitutional affairs, proposed sweeping changes that would also largely do away with the current system of self-regulation.
"These new measures will help [consumers] to receive better service from the legal sector while at the same time enabling providers to develop better, more competitive, consumer-focused businesses," Lord Falconer said. . . .
[T]he impact of the Falconer reforms may now affect the consumer and small business market more than big law firms.
Details here from The Deal via Law.com.
In other news, new European Union labor laws may make the "lock step" compensation system used at most large British law firms illegal: Lockstep threat emerges under Euro labour laws, from Legal Week.