Research by the Consumer Panel - which advises the Legal Services Board, the regulator of lawyers - finds that "consumers assume all lawyers are technically competent and are subject to more regulatory controls than is the case. This means that quality considerations do not strongly influence consumers' choice of lawyers and people erroneously consider that all legal services are of proven standard."
Apparently, despite a proliferation of quality badges for lawyers, consumers do not use or want quality marks in legal services.
The LSB's reaction to this seems to be to propose yet another layer of regulation for an already heavily regulated sector.
Seems to me it would be better to educate the public that all lawyers are *not* the same - some are better than others, and it is better to make a choice based on experience or a genuine informed recommendation - rather than taking up the referral from the estate agent who is paid by the lawyer to make that referral
Still, I know I am a voice crying in the wilderness. Why on earth should a regulatory body resist the urge to gather more work to itself? It makes one wonder, though ...
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I agree that educating the public is the best course. People outside the legal industry are just unaware of "quality badges" to even ask. I'm one of the few who had the good sense to look for "quality badges" when I needed a good conveyancing Adelaide service.
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