The final report of the Competition Authority into the legal profession contained few surprises, its earlier version also having recommended an independent regulatory body; the ending of the monopoly on legal education enjoyed by the Law Society and the King's Inns; allowing direct access to barristers; organisational reform among barristers, including the formation of partnerships; and the opening of conveyancing to non-lawyers.
These recommendations would, according to the authority, benefit consumers and reduce legal costs.
Legal fees have been a contentious issue for some time, prompted by the sums paid to solicitors and barristers in various tribunals and inquiries. Though the numbers who have benefited have been small, the impact on public opinion has been great. In this context, the authority has produced a rather meek response in its recommendation that the possibility should be examined of competitive tendering for legal services to the State.
The figures for lawyers' earnings published with the Competition Authority report confirm the perception that some lawyers earn a great deal of money, with the average earnings for all lawyers - including the newly qualified - running at €164,023 a year. Disquiet at the level of fees in certain areas, such as family law, has been expressed by the Supreme Court, and the former chief justice, Mr Justice Ronan Keane, has questioned whether the level of legal fees was in fact depriving certain categories of people of the right to access to justice.
The Competition Authority considers that these problems would be solved by competition and the ending of certain restrictive practices. The Haran group set up by the Minister for Justice to examine legal costs drew some similar conclusions, but saw problems with how legal fees are set (which is far from transparent). Its proposals are now with an implementation advisory group.
Some of the authority's recommendations are welcome and should receive urgent attention. The separation of the regulatory and representative functions of the Law Society and the Bar Council is long overdue. There is no good reason also why these bodies should monopolise professional education, provided standards are maintained. The Bar Council has already relaxed many of its rules concerning direct access, advertising and the relationship between the fees of senior and junior counsel.
However, the benefits of certain recommendations are not so obvious. The formation of partnerships involving several different professionals, including accountants and para-legals as well as solicitors and barristers, might suit businesses. But it could also hive off the most experienced and specialised lawyers, depriving small local solicitors and individual litigants of their services. One of the benefits of the present system is that anyone, including those on legal aid, can access the best barristers.
It is more than five years since the Competition Authority began studying this issue and there have been many reports on it since. It is time for action.