People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or in some contrivance to raise prices.
Adam Smith
Yesterday the British Columbian government pulled it's approval for the proposed Trinity Western University law school, following a decision by the B.C. Law Society to deny accreditation to Trinity graduates. Economically this move, and the Law Society in general, serves to limit the supply of lawyers to the great benefit of shysters across Canada but to the detriment of joe public. It also serves to legally disenfranchise this segment of society. The Trinity law school should be allowed to be built and it's lawyers should be allowed to practice but better still would be systemic reform, to wit smashing the compulsory licensure system altogether.
Anyone who thinks that they need an attorney who has gone through the rigorous schooling of the present system would be free to choose only such barristers who are licensed (voluntarily) by an agency which certifies that they have undertaken said education. But what about those who cannot afford to pay the inflated salary costs of an industry where supply is kept artificially low? Why should they be denied some legal representation, even if it is from someone who is self taught, a paralegal perhaps? The less educated and cheaper attorney could still compete by devoting more time to a case, doing more research and consulting with other more experienced lawyers.
Licensure is a scam, an unnecessary evil which protects not consumers but the pocketbooks of accredited professionals; let's end it.
No comments:
Post a Comment