21 UNSW Law Journal Volume 40(1) 11 THE LARGE PROFESSIONAL SERVICE FIRM: A NEW FORCE IN THE REGULATIVE BARGAIN JUSTINE ROGERS, DIMITY KINGSFORD SMITH AND JOHN CHELLEW I INTRODUCTION This article charts the rise of a new force in the regulative bargain:1 the large organisation or ‘professional service firm’. The ‘regulative bargain’ refers to the bargain, both theoretical and real, 2 between the professions and the state, on behalf of society. Increasingly, these parties actively negotiate the exchange of professional benefits and responsibilities, and how, where and for what purpose these will be allocated and enforced. This bargain is shaped too by the political climate and culture, and the access to the networks within which this agreement takes place. 3 The classic bargain is the grant of self-regulation and other Lecturer, UNSW Law, MSc (Oxon), DPhil (Oxon). Correspondence to Dr Justine Rogers <
[email protected]>. Professor and Director of the Centre for Law, Markets and Regulation (‘CLMR’), UNSW Sydney, LLM (London School of Economics) LLB (Sydney) BA (Sydney). Senior Research Fellow, UNSW Law. LLB (Monash), BA (Monash). Member of the CLMR, UNSW Law. The authors acknowledge the support of the Australian Research Council and the Professional Standards Councils for this work. They are also grateful for the support of professional partners to the grant, law firms Allens and Corrs Chambers Westgarth. The authors also acknowledge the support of the CLMR at UNSW Law, particularly the work of CLMR interns, Deborah Hartstein and Jason Zhang. They are also grateful for the considered comments of two anonymous referees.