THE NECESSITY for LAWYERS and the LAW SOCIETY in ENGLAND-A LESSON for the AMERICAN LEGAL PROFESSION by Harry Cohen* I
THE NECESSITY FOR LAWYERS AND THE LAW SOCIETY IN ENGLAND-A LESSON FOR THE AMERICAN LEGAL PROFESSION By Harry Cohen* I. Introduction As a former President of The Law Society put it, solicitors have been the subject of virulent attacks in the past few years1 and, in spite of a survey2 of the British public showing that nine out of ten people who use a solicitor are satisfied with the service they receive, there have been calls for abolishing lawyers, at least in certain areas of practice such as conveyan~ing.~There have also been calls for opening the courts to appearances by nonlawyers in a representative capacity.' The legal profession in the United States has been the subject of similar outbursts6 with the most vociferous attacks coming from * Marc Ray Clement Professor of Law Support for the research and writing of this article has been furnished by the University of Alabama Law School Foundation, and that aid is greatly appreci- ated. Thanks should also be given to Dean Charles Gamble who has been a source of help and inspiration for all faculty members of the University of Alabama Law School. 1. House Bill Withdrawn, 81 LAWSOC'Y GAZETTE, 475 (1984). 2. The Times of London, 17 April, 1986, at 3. 3. Mr. Michael Joseph, the author of the book The Conveyancing Fraud is quoted as declaring "Abolish lawyers" in the Daily Mail of 1 August 1984, by a retired solicitor, J.D. Miles. Id. Besides making many good suggestions about what the profession should do in the future, Miles observes that many members of the public have an "in-built prejudice against lawyers, Id.
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