The Price of Law: How the Market for Lawyers Distorts the Justice System

The legal profession has long been both uneasy and defensive about its relationship to the market. Concerns about the commercialization of law practice date back almost as far as the profession itself, and certainly characterize the modern bar. The profession is entrusted with guardianship of the ju...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Michigan law review 2000-02, Vol.98 (4), p.953-1006
Main Author: Hadfield, Gillian K.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis
Attorneys
Attorneys fees
Competition
Costs
Costs (Law)
Economic theory
Economics
Fees
Guardians
Judges
Justice, Administration of
Law
Law schools
Lawyer client communication
Legal ethics
Legal fees
Legal services
Legal systems
Market prices
Monopoly
Prices
Profits
Public interest
Self interest
United States
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Summary:The legal profession has long been both uneasy and defensive about its relationship to the market. Concerns about the commercialization of law practice date back almost as far as the profession itself, and certainly characterize the modern bar. The profession is entrusted with guardianship of the justice system, and so imbued with the qualities of public service, but it also primarily distributes its goods via commercial, private markets. This dual role causes internal conflict in the profession. This article explores the economics of the market for lawyers and demonstrates its various noncompetitive features.
ISSN:0026-2234
1939-8557
DOI:10.2307/1290336