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GAZETTE
JANUARY/FEBRUARY 1995
The Future of Irish Legal Services in a
Global Economy
by Bernard O'Connor*
Part II
The economic integration that has
happened in Europe in the last 40 years
is taking place at a much faster pace
globally. Communications have made
working the global market as easy, if
not easier, than practising on circuit in
Ireland.
Services have beeq a leader in this
economic integration with the financial
sector leading the way. Accountancy is
not far behind. Legal services come in
a poor third.
On a global integrated services level,
the big six accountancy firms truly are
integrated and pose a great competitive
threat to the worldwide legal profession.
They provide a "seamless" service,
meaning that if you walk in the door in
downtown Chicago that your global
problems will be addressed from your
local office. Only Baker and Mackenzie
attempt to do this on the legal side.
The UK based Solicitors' firms and the
large New York based law firms are
some way behind the accountants but
they are making efforts to catch up.
The failure of the legal profession to
keep pace with the changing world is
due to many causes not least of which is
the need for detailed knowledge of local
procedures and the need for lawyer
organisations to maintain standards of
professional conduct and service.
Lawyers protect their privileged access
to court work. However, very few
transnational companies go to Court.
Why waste time and money on an
uncertain and public result in a
jurisdiction that you don't understand,
when you can go to arbitration. Non-
lawyers are strong, and getting
stronger, in arbitration.
In competition law there is no
requirement to be a practising lawyer
to represent clients before the EU
Commission and, as far as I am aware,
the majority of the national
competition authorities.
In trade law, again, there is no
requirement to be a practising lawyer to
argue an anti-dumping or subsidy case
in Brussels or to represent a sovereign
state in the dispute settlement proced-
ures of the GATT. Nor is there the need
to be a lawyer to persuade the Irish
administration that a local Irish practice
needs to be changed, by legislation if
necessary, so as to remove a barrier to
market access or an inconsistency with
EU or international law.
Accountants and consultants are
increasingly becoming involved in this
type of trade and competition work.
Lawyers tend to be lagging behind.
Solicitors working in the field of
commercial and tax law will already be
aware of the increased competition
from accountancy firms in the
provision of legal services, tax advice,
company formation and management.
All of them employ lawyers. Some,
such as Arthur Andersen, are
establishing their own law firms.
I am informed that work referred from
other UK and US law firms forms a
large percentage of the work carried out
by the larger Irish commercial practices.
If globally lawyers are not getting
commercial law work, then the flow to
the large Irish firms will slow down.
Lawyers are right to protect standards
but they should not let standards be an
excuse for protectionism of whatever
sort. Those who hide behind
protectionist barriers will lose out.
This is because, quite simply, the flow
of commerce and practice will move
on around them and leave them safe
and secure and dry on their
diminishing but secure island of
practice. Lawyers should be looking
for opportunities to partake in the
global market for legal services not
protecting themselves from more
aggressive professionals.
The Irish legal profession along with
Irish Government agencies needs to
respond to these developments. Ireland
should be promoted as an international
legal centre to cater for the growing
amount of international legal work
which is not necessarily tied to one
particular legal jurisduction.
With regard to differences of
procedures and local rules, which have
been a core argument for the
maintenance of the court monopolies, I
would argue that with the further
!
integration of the European economy
j
there will be a lessening of differences |
in both the Member States and the
advanced industrial economies. This
í
trend will continue in all market
economies where the regulation of
property and the exercise of property
rights will gradually become similar.
The trend to similarity is sharpest in
j
Europe where the EU laws in financial
services, telecommunication, transport,
environment, consumer protection,
intellectual property, trade
competition, social rights, to name but
a few, both dominate and predicate
national law.
The provision of legal services is
therefore becoming, and needs to
become more, globally orientated. Irish
lawyers have a number of great
advantages to take part in this
globalisation of legal services, either
as individuals or firms: the English
language; an Anglo-Saxon legal