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Full-Text Articles in Law
The Cost Of Law: Promoting Access To Justice Through The (Un)Corporate Practice Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
The Cost Of Law: Promoting Access To Justice Through The (Un)Corporate Practice Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
The U.S. faces a mounting crisis in access to justice. Vast numbers of ordinary Americans represent themselves in routine legal matters daily in our over-burdened courts. Obtaining ex ante legal advice is effectively impossible for almost everyone except larger corporate entities, organizations and governments. In this paper, I explain why, as a matter of economic policy, it is essential that the legal profession abandon the prohibition on the corporate practice of law in order to remedy the access problem. The prohibitions on the corporate practice of law rule out the use of essential organizational and contracting tools widely used in …
Lawyers, Make Room For Non-Lawyers, Gillian K. Hadfield
Lawyers, Make Room For Non-Lawyers, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
No abstract provided.
Legal Services Needed; Lawyers Need Not Apply, Gillian K. Hadfield
Legal Services Needed; Lawyers Need Not Apply, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
No abstract provided.
Producing Law For Innovation, Gillian K. Hadfield
Producing Law For Innovation, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
In this chapter I first discuss why we need to think of legal infrastructure as economic infrastructure requiring focused economic policymaking, what is wrong with our existing legal infrastructure and why we need to change our modes of legal production. I then set out a vision of what greater reliance on market-based production of legal infrastructure could look like. Finally, I suggest some concrete steps that policymakers can take to move us toward a more open, competitive system of legal production. These include 1) opening up access to the provision of legal services, such as by establishing a federal licensing …
Producing Law For Innovation, Gillian K. Hadfield
Producing Law For Innovation, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
In this contribution to the forthcoming Rules for Growth prepared by the Kauffman Task Force on Law, Innovation and Growth, I first discuss why we need to think of legal infrastructure as economic infrastructure requiring focused economic policymaking, what is wrong with our existing legal infrastructure and why we need to change our modes of legal production. I then set out a vision of what greater reliance on market-based production of legal infrastructure could look like. Finally, I suggest some concrete steps that policymakers can take to move us toward a more open, competitive system of legal production. These include …
Equipping The Garage Guys In Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
Equipping The Garage Guys In Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
The twin structural changes of the last few decades—globalization and the emergence of a web-based platform for economic activity--have transformed the economic demand for law. The market for law, however, has struggled to keep up with these changes, showing few signs of the kind of innovation that we see in many other sectors of the new economy. Even our most sophisticated and innovative corporations report difficulty in finding lawyers with the kinds of risk-attuned and creative problem-solving skills that they need (Hadfield 2011). Some large corporate clients have gone so far as to refuse to hire new law firm associates, …
The Role Of International Law Firms And Multijural Legal Human Capital In The Harmonization Of Legal Regimes, Gillian K. Hadfield
The Role Of International Law Firms And Multijural Legal Human Capital In The Harmonization Of Legal Regimes, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
The problem of harmonizing legal rules across multiple overlapping legal orders is, in part, a problem of knowledge. If the public goal of harmonization is to promote value in transactions and dispute resolution, a legal regime needs institutions that facilitate the production of multijural human capital: expertise about how legal rules interact with each other and with the environment in which economic actors design transactions and dispute processing mechanisms. Because much of this expertise is embedded with the actors involved in transactions and disputes, the production of expertise has to be supported by adequate incentives for private actors to invest …
Don’T Forget The Lawyers: Legal Human Capital And The Role Of Lawyers In Supporting The Rule Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
Don’T Forget The Lawyers: Legal Human Capital And The Role Of Lawyers In Supporting The Rule Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
No abstract provided.
The Price Of Law: How The Market For Lawyers Distorts The Justice System, Gillian K. Hadfield
The Price Of Law: How The Market For Lawyers Distorts The Justice System, Gillian K. Hadfield
Gillian K Hadfield
Why are lawyers so expensive? This paper explores the economics of the markets for lawyers and the reasons why pricing for lawyers departs from competitive pricing. Unlike conventional analyses, which emphasize entry restrictions, this analysis emphasizes market imperfections due to the nature of legal reasoning and practice and in particular the role of increasing returns to specialization and cognitive skill. The analysis also emphasizes the impact of market dynamics on the distribution of legal services, particularly high end legal work, between corporate and individual clients.
The Price Of Law, Gillian K. Hadfield