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in this paper to forecast both the probably and
possible shape of events as
they may develop
over the next forty to fifty years. Except where
otherwise indicated, the pattern outlines will be
that of the legal profession in England, and the
developments forecast are an amalgam of what
he thinks will happen, what may happen and,
perhaps, even what should happen, however un
likely this day seem at the present time.
The extent to which civilization has advanced or
regressed throughout the world today may be
gauged in each country by the respect paid to the
law and its administration. The legal profession,
which is largely responsible for that administra
tion, must therefore continue to command public
respect and to that end must be ready, at all
times,
to meet the public's requirements for a
legal service.
These requirements change and will continue
to change as social and economic changes take
place, new scientific discoveries are made and
world conditions alter, and it is therefore incum
bent upon each successive generation of lawyers
from time to time to take stock of its position
and make sure that the services which it offers
are those that are required and that the next
generation of lawyers is trained in the appropriate
fields of legal activity.
The trends from which one may deduce wnat
the future pattern of the profession is likely to
be derive from a wide variety of factors, some of
which influence the nature of the legal business to
be done, others the volume of that business and
yet others the deployment of lawyers upon it and
the organisation of their firms.
Some Factors
The redistribution of wealth,
the
improved
standards of general education and ever-growing
multiplicity and complexity of the laws, coupled
with their incursion into the lives of the ordinary
man and woman, have created over comparatively
recent years a very substantial new body of clients,
actual or potential.
The business of the legal profession is as to
about nine-tenths concerned with matters af
fecting the daily life of the community ou'.side
the courts, and the remaining one-tenth which
attracts the great public attention, is
litigation
and criminal business.
The comparatively few great
landowners of
the early days of the century have been replaced
by countless thousands of home-owners, following
upon large estate development schemes and the
erection of hugh blocks of flats. The steep rise in
and the spread of taxation have led to the virtual
elimination of strict settlements, once so popular,
and to a decrease in trust business, but at the
same time they have imposed the need to con
sider the tax position in almost every kind of
legal transaction and especially in the disposition
of estates.
The effects of company and commercial de
velopment, the extension of international trade
and the vastly increased speed of communication
and tempo of life have created a demand for a
very different type of family lawyer from that of
earlier days, peacefully engaged as he was very
largely upon settlements, trusts and the admin
istration of estates. Legislation controlling town
and country planning,
the popular appeal of
hire purchase schemes arid the establishment of
administrative tribunals are but a few of
the
factors that have widened
the scope of
legal
activity.
The considerable breakdown in family life and
responsibility has led not only to a great increase
in divorce business and ancillary reliefs, but to
a great rise in juvenile crime, and two major
wars have also made their contribution towards
the increase in crime generally.
The advent of the motor car, made increasingly
faster and, because of full employment, now al
most universally owned, has resulted in the court
lists being choked with actions for personal in
juries. Where will
this lead when, as
the car
replaced the horse, so the plane of spaceship re
places the family car? Will the introduction of
some provision for 'absolute liability' on the part
of the motorist effect a meteoric fall in a number
of 'personal injury' cases for trial?
Meanwhile the policy has been to withdraw
judges more and more frequently from
their
normal tasks to preside overy royal commissions
and public inquiries. In consequence, partly, no
doubt, the number of judges steadily increases
and changes in practice and procedure are made
to meet an altered situation in the courts. In
civil litigation juries have in effect been replaced
by a judge alone. The clear tendency is generally
to decentralise the business of the courts, and
experiments are being made by mechanisation to
speed up the trial of actions with the ultimate
object, presumably, of providing an early hearing
on a fixed day, which will avoid waste of time
by litigants, witnesses and lawyers alike in waiting
to come on for trial.
The creation of the welfare state itself has had
a major effect upon the public outlook cowards
their rights and duties. Obligations previously re
garded as being family ones are now considered
to be those of the taxpayer in general. If anyone
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