Canadian Lawyer

what additional documents or information from the client need to be downloaded into the system by the client. Clients will even complete first drafts of certain documents by keying in relevant information. Outstanding matters are automatically messaged to clients, as are appointments and court dates. New arrangements Paul King, of the U.K. law firm April King, recently mused on Twitter, "I'm not sure law can survive as a standalone profession." Whether it can or can't remains to be seen. However the better question is: why should it stand alone? Successful solos and smalls of 2020 will seek, in the words of Alvin Toffler, "imaginative juxtapositions" in order to service clients; fusing legal services with other businesses. In the United States, we've already seen instances where lawyers have married business interests together to differentiate themselves from their competitors — and perhaps to provide a buffer in lean times. The fusion of coffee shops and law firms can be found in several American states, Legal Force riffs off the Apple Store concept, and most recently a Connecticut lawyer opened Legal Cuts, a barbershop/law office combination in the belief that someone with legal questions will be more willing to share them during a haircut or shave. For those with a court date, Legal Cuts sweetens the deal by offering a white shirt, tie, and haircut; it also offers unlimited haircuts for $60 per month. Whether it's a coffee shop, a barbershop, or something else, business fusions will seek to locate legal services where people go on a regular basis. In fact, by 2020, we will see President's Choice Law or Wal-Mart Law where solos will be able to plug into third-party infrastructure that provides full administrative support, knowledge management, marketing, paralegals, and other lawyers to assist with larger files yet continue to remain independent, similar to gunnercooke in the U.K. or Clearspire in the U.S. Heavily enabled by technology, these models were not possible 10 or even five years ago; by 2020, they will be de rigueur. Sadly, current law society rules place a wet and overly protective blanket over some imaginative juxtapositions — but not all of them. More opportunities will open up when these silly ownership rules are eventually removed across Canada; which I also foresee by 2020. Conclusion The future for solos and smalls I've suggested above is already doable and increasingly affordable. It's a future that will not only improve access to justice but also the work life of lawyers, creating a win/win for all Canadians. So . . . who will be the solos or smalls that lead the way? Mitch Kowalski is the author of Avoiding Extinction: Reimagining Legal Services for the 21st Century and in 2012 he was selected as one of the Fastcase Top 50 Global Legal Innovators. He has worked in a variety of legal roles and maintains a small boutique commercial law practice in Toronto. He can be reached at kowalski.ca or follow him on Twitter @mekowalski. Is it time for a national lawyer regulator? By Alice Woolley T he federal government still wants a national securities regulator. Despite disagreement from some provinces, and the Supreme Court's lack of enthusiasm, the last budget suggested by "pooling provincial, territorial, and federal jurisdiction and expertise, Canada could have a world-leading securities regulatory regime." What about a national lawyer regulator? Creating a national body for regulating the provision of legal services may be constitutionally impossible — but would it be a good idea? To argue that it is requires showing our current system fails in some way, there are important things that it does not do, or does not do very well. The dedicated lawyers who volunteer hundreds of hours of their time, the initiatives that have been taken by Canadian law societies to improve their regulatory systems, and the virtues of local governance make the counterargument. Nonetheless, I want to suggest our current regulatory system will become increasingly unable to effectively govern the provision of legal services. Change — perhaps radical change — will be necessary. Effective regulation requires both responding to market problems and failures, and permitting and facilitating positive market developments. In the context of legal services, responding to market problems and failures includes sanctioning individual lawyers who act contrary to the interests of clients or the legal system. It also includes addressing institutional and organizational problems, such as forms of law firm governance that encourage lawyers to act badly, and structural impediments to access to justice. The facilitation of positive market trends includes permitting and encouraging new systems for deliver- ing legal services, such as technological innovations that lower costs and improve quality, or different business structures that do the same. As noted, the people working in Canada's provincial law societies are hard working and act in good faith. They are not the problem. Rather, the growing regulatory challenge arises from the structure of the regulatory bodies, and the complex and evolving nature of the legal services market. Limited resources create the first issue. Volunteer lawyers govern Canada's law societies. In Ontario benchers work a certain number of days for free, after which they are paid an honorarium for days worked. Benchers in other Canadian jurisdictions are not materially compensated for their time. The law societies are financed through licensing fees paid by lawyers rather than from general revenues. Those fees pay for all of the full- www.CANADIAN L a w ye r m a g . c o m august 2013 41

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