Despite aggressive competition from London’s Magic Circle, U.S. firms historically have dominated the market for global legal services. But that dominance is now at risk. Our system of lawyer regulation, including substantively outdated ethics rules and inconsistent state-by-state rule making, inhibits all U.S. lawyers–whether they practice at large multioffice firms, small single-office firms, or in solo shops–from providing the seamless, efficient, and cost-effective service for which clients of every size and level of sophistication are crying out.
In contrast, regulation of lawyers in England and Australia is being modernized in crucial ways that make their firms increasingly competitive in the global marketplace, to the disadvantage of their American competitors. New laws which allow outside investment in English and Australian firms, and permit them to expand into multidisciplinary practice, will further sharpen their competitive edge.
