Lawyers need to adapt to survive loosening regulation

Why do people become lawyers?

In my case, as I suspect for many others, it was largely because my parents thought it a good idea. Some may have watched too much Law or read too much legal notice. Quite a few lawyers I know couldn't think of anything better to do and were attracted by the security and salary on offer. There may have even been the odd one or two inspired by the thought of righting injustices, championing the oppressed and the like. I joke, of course. It's more like three or four.

By law, there are six areas of work – known as reserved legal activities – for which you need a legal qualification: preparing litigation; representing someone in court; transferring land; certain limited aspects of probate; notarial activities; and the administration of oaths. That's it.

For anything else, you can set yourself up as a legal adviser, stick an advert in the local paper, and off you go on your merry, unregulated way. Solicitors need to have indemnity insurance in case they mess up, and collectively contribute to a fund that compensates consumers who are the victims of fraud by dishonest members of their profession. Legal advisers do not.

The reserved list is curious, however, and part of the board's work is looking at how it developed. The restriction on probate, for example, relates just to preparing papers on which to found or oppose a grant of probate, or a grant of letters of administration. Nothing on the actual administration of an estate, say, which one might argue is where the greater risk of mischief lies, and where the reassurance of ensuring it is dealt with by a qualified professional may be essential.

The bad news for solicitors is that unless the board makes the unlikely move of greatly increasing the range of reserved activities, competition will be more fierce than ever and the much predicted shake-out of the profession will come to fruition over the next few years. One leading legal commentator, Professor Stephen Mayson, has been saying for years that there are too many solicitors.

The good news is that solicitors have a lot to fight back with. Research conducted for the Law Society shows confidence among high street lawyers that their local reputation is strong enough to withstand competition from big new entrants to the market. This may well prove optimistic, given that you still come across firms that close at lunchtime, but when I had to buy some terms and conditions for my website, I used an online service run by a qualified solicitor, although the business is a legal consultancy, not a regulated law firm.