October 2015

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46 OCTOBER 2015
LEGAL ETHICS
BY JOHN LEVIN
Too Many Laws
Recent editions of this column have
focused on the shortage of legal
services to the poor and the middle
class. One cause of this shortage is that we
seek remedies for our societal problems
through legislation, and as a consequence,
minor personal matters affecting ordinary
middle class people become enmeshed
in seemingly Byzantine regulations that
should realistically apply to complex
institutions. This creates a need for legal
services, which are often not available
because of the shortage of lawyers willing
and able to provide them. This column
offers some examples.
Recently the Consumer Financial Pro-
tection Bureau issued some new regulations
in accordance with the Dodd-Frank Act.
(The fact that we have a Consumer Pro-
tection Finance Bureau or a Dodd-Frank
Act is a prime example of our underlying
problem.) The purpose of the changes is to
simplify real estate closings and give bor-
rowers more time to review and understand
their loan documents. However, as one
software provider stated: ”Making things
simpler for consumers can increase com-
plexity on the back end.” One of the results
is to slow down the closing process to allow
the borrower to review the newly simplified
information. However, the information
John Levin is the retired Assis-
tant General Counsel of GATX
Corporation and a member of
the CBARecord Editorial Board.
required to be disclosed to borrowers, while
useful to individuals reasonably conversant
in financial matters, is of less help to the
unsophisticated without professional help.
Also, what if the borrower is not happy
with what is disclosed - remedies require
more professional help.
This is only a recent example of regula-
tors’ reliance on disclosure as a means of
consumer protection. However, much
of the information disclosed is in a form
that requires some expertise to understand.
In addition to disclosure, the consuming
public is bombarded with contracts - often
containing dense verbiage. Think of the
recurring amendments to credit card agree-
ments and the ever-present “Accept” on
software downloads. Again, more need of
professional help (even in some instances
for lawyers).
Another example of regulatory complex-
ity is how the Internal Revenue Code has
grown in response to decades of “reform”
efforts. Once the Internal Revenue Code
could be carried in one hand as a paperback
book. Now, to quote an on-line tax code,
the “complete Internal Revenue Code is
more than 24 megabytes in length…and
printed 60 lines to the page it would fill
more than 7500 letter sized pages.” Most of
John Levin’s Ethics columns,
which are published in each
CBA Record, are now in-
dexed and available online.
For more, go to
legalethics/.
ETHICS QUESTIONS?
The CBA’s Professional Responsibility Commit-
tee can help. Submit hypothetical questions to
Loretta Wells, CBA Government Affairs Direc-
tor, by fax 312/554-2054 or e-mail lwells@
.
the changes were put in place to address the
concerns of major industries or to attempt
to correct perceived inequities. However,
for whatever reason they were adopted,
the amendments have made the everyday
personal tax return more and more com-
plicated. Were it not for the availability of
on-line tax preparation software, most tax-
payers would have to hire professional tax
preparers–more complexity for the middle
class and more business for professionals.
There is not much we can do to reverse
this trend other than to radically change the
way our society is governed. What we can
do is create more affordable professionals
to help the average citizens work their way
through the maze.
RESOURCE PORTAL FOR SOLO PRACITITONERS AND SMALL FIRMS
Did you know that the CBA has a FREE resource portal for solo small firm members? Access archived pro-
grams on firm marketing, start up tips, legal software demos, client development and more. Go to www.
, click on the Resources tab, then Solo Small Firm Resource Portal, or call 312/554-2070.