Better value, legally speaking

Alan Shatter’s legal sector reform bill will bring a ‘sheltered’ profession under control, writes Dan Buckley

FOR generations, Irish lawyers have faced accusations of anti-competitive practices that favour the profession at the expense of the consumer.

The provision of legal services in Ireland has been examined on numerous occasions by such bodies as the Restrictive Practices Commission in 1982, the Fair Trade Commission in 1990, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 2001, and the Competition Authority in 2006; the latter making 29 recommendations for reform.