Clifford Winston, Brookings Institution Searle Freedom Trust Senior Fellow - Economic Studies

This presentation argues that licensing restrictions for the legal profession cannot be justified on cost-benefit grounds. We would be better off deregulating entry into the legal profession, thereby forcing lawyers to compete more intensely both with other lawyers and other providers of legal services. In the marketplace we envision, lawyers would still be welcome to attend traditional three-year law schools and to acquire other credentials that signal their competence and quality. At the same time, though, individuals ought to be able to learn what they need to practice law from less expensive and less time-consuming sources. Allowing the lawyers’ trade association to enjoy a monopoly on law school accreditation and forcing lawyers to pass licensing exams generates huge costs, direct and indirect, yet adds little protection against unscrupulous and incompetent providers of legal services.