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The impact of the 2007 Legal Services Act on organisational form, the legal profession, and future skills requirements.

2007 年《法律服务法》对组织形式、法律职业和未来技能要求的影响。

基本信息

批准号：
ES/L002639/1
负责人：
Sundeep Aulakh
金额：
$ 5.74万
依托单位：
University of Leeds
依托单位国家：
英国
项目类别：
Research Grant
财政年份：
2013
资助国家：
英国
起止时间：
2013 至无数据
项目状态：
已结题

来源：
https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=ES%2FL002639%2F1
关键词：
impact 2007 Legal Services Act

项目摘要

The legal services sector is of fundamental importance to the UK economy both in terms of its contribution to national wealth, and because it plays an important enabling function for other enterprise in the UK. The sector is, however, undergoing a period of substantive restructuring as it responds and adapts to a range of endogenous and exogenous factors. Arguably, the 2007 Legal Services Act (LSA) is one of the most important developments precipitating sectoral change. Designed to promote competition and choice, the Act allows non-lawyers to manage and/or own law firms by introducing new types of organisational forms - Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDPs) and Alternative Business Structures (ABS). These changes are already intensifying competition within the sector and transforming the way in which legal services are delivered. To date, about 6% of law firms have either adopted a new structure or are in the process of doing so. Whilst this represents a small proportion of firms within the sector, emerging evidence (albeit somewhat limited) highlights the way in which 'traditional' firms are responding in other ways to the Act, for example, by adapting their business strategies. ABS and LDPs are generating much interest in the market-place as well as amongst policy-makers and academic circles. Yet there is little, detailed empirical data about them or the way in which traditional law firms are responding to the emergence of ABS/LDPS and/or or their strategic response to the LSA more widely. The implications this raises for the skills required of future lawyers are also little understood. The first objective of this research, therefore, is to collect empirical data of two kinds: quantitative and qualitative. The former will enable the study to present an overview of the legal sector's response to the 2007 LSA, whilst the latter will facilitate a deeper and in-depth understanding of such responses - essentially, the rationale underpinning them, the process and mechanisms through which change is effected and tensions associated with this, the impact on the firm in terms of governance, management and human resources, as well as its competitive position in the market place. The second objective is to use the empirical data to inform existing theoretical literature within organisational studies and economic sociology. In so doing, the research will focus on three core strands: The organisational form: the way in which the emergence of new structures (i.e. ABS/LDPs) and other responses to the LSA 2007 is exacerbating the decline of the 'P2 firm', the theoretical, archetypal form associated with autonomous professional organisations such as law firms. The possibility of developing a typology of newly formed ABS/LDPs will also be considered. Reconfiguration of the legal professional: ways in which the traditional power and dominance of lawyers is being challenged and contested both from within the organisational setting and externally by those delivering non-reserved legal activities. The study will examine the interaction and power dynamics between lawyers and non-lawyers in ABS/LDPs. It will also examine the threat posed by the commoditization of legal services and ways in which lawyers seek to redefine what it means to be a solicitor or a barrister - essentially ways in which they protect their 'professional project'. Skills demands of lawyers of the future: as the emergence of ABS/LDPs is changing the role of lawyers, the skills and competencies expected of them is also changing. Within the wider context of the Legal Education and Training Review, this research will examine the types of knowledge, skills and values expected of lawyers in new organisational structures. The implications this raises for the type of training and education required for lawyers of the future will also be explored.

法律服务行业对英国经济至关重要，不仅因为它对国家财富的贡献，还因为它对英国其他企业起着重要的推动作用。然而，由于该部门对一系列内生和外生因素作出反应和适应，它正在经历一个实质性改组的时期。可以说，2007年法律服务法（LSA）是促成行业变革的最重要的发展之一。该法案旨在促进竞争和选择，允许非律师管理和/或拥有律师事务所，通过引入新的组织形式-法律纪律惯例（LDPs）和替代业务结构（ABS）。这些变化已经加剧了该行业内部的竞争，并改变了提供法律服务的方式。到目前为止，大约6%的律师事务所已经采用了新的结构，或者正在这样做。虽然这只代表了该行业内公司的一小部分，但新出现的证据（尽管有些有限）突出了“传统”公司以其他方式应对该法案的方式，例如，通过调整其业务战略。ABS和ldp引起了市场、政策制定者和学术界的极大兴趣。然而，关于他们或传统律师事务所如何应对ABS/LDPS的出现和/或他们对LSA的更广泛的战略反应的方式，几乎没有详细的经验数据。这对未来律师所需技能的影响也很少被理解。因此，本研究的第一个目标是收集两种经验数据：定量和定性。前者将使研究概述法律界对2007年LSA的反应，而后者将有助于更深入和深入地了解这些反应-本质上，支持它们的基本原理，实现变革的过程和机制以及与之相关的紧张关系，对公司在治理，管理和人力资源方面的影响，以及其在市场上的竞争地位。第二个目标是使用经验数据来告知现有的理论文献在组织研究和经济社会学。在这样做的过程中，研究将集中在三个核心方面：组织形式：新结构（即ABS/ ldp）的出现和对LSA 2007的其他反应的方式正在加剧“P2公司”的衰落，P2公司是与律师事务所等自主专业组织相关的理论原型形式。还将考虑开发新形成的ABS/ ldp类型的可能性。法律专业人士的重新配置：律师的传统权力和主导地位受到挑战和挑战的方式，这些挑战和挑战来自组织内部和外部，来自那些提供无保留法律活动的人。本研究将考察ABS/ ldp中律师和非律师之间的互动和权力动态。它还将研究法律服务商品化所带来的威胁，以及律师寻求重新定义作为律师或大律师的意义的方式——本质上是他们保护“专业项目”的方式。未来律师的技能要求：随着ABS/ ldp的出现正在改变律师的角色，对他们的技能和能力的期望也在发生变化。在法律教育和培训审查的更广泛的背景下，这项研究将检查在新的组织结构中律师的知识，技能和价值观的类型。还将探讨这对未来律师所需的培训和教育类型所产生的影响。