LARGE LAW FIRMS AND CAPTURE: TOWARDS A NUANCED UNDERSTANDING OF SELF-REGULATION

Abstract

The limited academic literature on regulation of the legal profession argues that law societies should further regulate large law firms. This article takes a countervailing position and submits that as a result of complex regulatory-like infrastructure that already exists within large firms, the law society has a weak incentive to regulate these firms. Large law firms develop and maintain their own codes of conduct and internal monitoring systems. While the rules of professional conduct serve as a baseline regulatory regime, large law firms have strong incentives to implement as or more stringent rules and relatively weak incentives to capture the law society.