Lawyers and the Public Good: Democracy in Action? (The Hamlyn Lectures)

For the 2010 Hamlyn Lectures, Alan Paterson explores different facets of three key institutions in a democracy: lawyers, access to justice and the judiciary. In the case of lawyers he asks whether professionalism is now in terminal decline. To examine access to justice, he discusses past and present crises in legal aid and potential endgames, and in relation to judges he examines possible mechanisms for enhancing judicial accountability. In demonstrating that the benign paternalism of lawyers in determining the public good with respect to such issues is no longer unchallenged, he argues that the future roles of lawyers, access to justice and the judiciary will only emerge from dialogues with other stakeholders claiming to speak for the public interest. Title......Page 5 Copyright......Page 6 Dedication......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 List of Tables......Page 10 List of Illustrations......Page 11 The Hamlyn Trust......Page 13 The Hamlyn Lectures......Page 17 Acknowledgements......Page 21 1 Introduction: determining the public good......Page 25 2 Professionalism re-assessed: what now for lawyers?......Page 29 Solicitors: a profession in crisis?......Page 30 The renegotiation of professionalism......Page 40 Status......Page 42 Reasonable rewards......Page 43 Restraints on competition and market control......Page 46 Numbers: market control on supply of producers......Page 48 Regulation and autonomy......Page 52 Expertise......Page 58 Access......Page 61 Service ethic......Page 63 Public protection......Page 65 Frontiers of lawyer liability to third parties: extending the public interest......Page 66 Counsel......Page 68 Conclusion......Page 77 The public good and access to justice......Page 83 The history of legal aid......Page 87 The theoretical justification for state-based legal aid......Page 92 Challenges for legal aid and access to justice......Page 95 Strategic planning......Page 96 Affordability, rationing and prioritisation......Page 97 Integrating supply and demand......Page 100 Strategic planning......Page 104 Community Legal Service......Page 105 Policy reform......Page 110 Quality assurance......Page 111 Affordability, rationing and prioritisation......Page 112 Introducing a cap on legal aid expenditure......Page 113 Adjusting scope: the position of money claims......Page 114 Eligibility......Page 117 Integrating supply and demand......Page 118 The vulnerabilities of contracts......Page 119 Investing for the future......Page 121 State salaried legal aid lawyers......Page 122 Overall......Page 123 The comparative problem......Page 124 Leadership......Page 125 The way forward: the complex, planned mixed model......Page 128 New money......Page 131 Expenditure control and prioritisation......Page 137 Integrating supply and demand......Page 138 New providers......Page 139 New forms of delivery......Page 140 Conclusion......Page 144 4 Judges and the public good: reflections on the last Law Lords......Page 149 The dialogue with the Government: inter-governmental relations......Page 153 Separation of powers......Page 158 The challenge of accountability......Page 161 More diversity......Page 165 Judicial selection......Page 170 Judicial appointment and the Supreme Court......Page 172 Greater disclosure and transparency......Page 176 Judicial decision-making......Page 179 Law Lords and counsel......Page 184 Law Lords and Law Lords......Page 186 Belmarsh......Page 211 5 Conclusion: where next?......Page 218 Bibliography......Page 222 Index......Page 236 In a democracy, regulating the legal profession, setting the parameters of access to justice and determining the role of the judiciary are too important to be left to lawyers and judges alone. Alan Paterson also discusses the democratic tensions caused by the enhanced power of the judiciary in the UK. Chiefly Covers Great Britain, But Also Includes Some Discussion Of Several Other Common Law Jurisdictions. Alan Paterson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 198-211) And Index.