The Gazette 1995

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.

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. 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 The trend to similarity is sharpest in 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

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