Legal Profession at Crossroads:

1. Legal Profession at Crossroads: Transitional Trends in the Markets for Legal Services in Slovakia, Moldova and Kosovo By Luba Beardsley and Alexey Proskuryakov, LEGLR

2. Objective To highlight the trends in the development of legal profession in selected transition countries

3. Structure of the Presentation • Why lawyers? • Need for a new approach • Case Studies • Common Problems • Common Systemic Factors • Questions to Be Answered

4. Justice Sector Reform: Why Lawyers? • Lawyers’ role in providing access to justice • Lawyer’s impact on legal reform • Lawyers’ impact on courts performance • Lawyers’ role in judicial corruption • Facilitating a dialogue with the judges • Magnitude of resources invested in the legal services

5. Need for a New Approach The Bank should develop effective strategies for the markets for legal services in the transition countries through empirical research and be prepared to challenge the traditional models of regulation.

6. Where is the legal profession in transition countries coming from? • Profession/bar controlled by the state • Demand for services limited • Low numbers of service providers • Relatively high economic power • Minimal political influence • Poor quality of services • Access to legal services versus to justice

7. Current Situation in Slovakia, Kosovo, and Moldova

8. Slovak Attorneys: Taking a Good Care of Themselves • Explosion in the demand for services • Shortage of lawyers • Skyrocketing fees • Low quality of services • Delegation of public oversight to the Bars • Domination of boutique practices • The single strongest professional group • Economic inaccessibility of legal services

9. Kosovo 2001: Adapting Local Conditions to Foreign Models • Low demand for legal services • Low number of attorneys • Large number of unregistered providers • Bar’s attempts to monopolize the market • Poor quality of services • Affordable fees • Unpredictable environment

10. Moldova’s Rich Notaries & Poor Attorneys: The Attorneys • Low demand for services • Excessive number of providers • Unrestricted access to the market • Underdeveloped Bar & powerless attorneys • Few independent service providers • Unregulated and low fees still too high for most • Poor quality of services • Unregulated market

11. Moldova’s Rich Notaries & Poor Attorneys: The Notaries • Broad scope of professional monopoly • Explosion in the demand for services • Shortage of service providers • Low quality of services • Skyrocketing fees exceeding official • Delegating public oversight to powerful Bar • Strongest professional group • Services inaccessible for a vast majority

12. Common Problems • Poor quality of services • Economic barriers to legal services

13. Common Systemic Factors • Government’s withdrawal from ensuring adequate provision of legal services • Weak or non-existent consumers protection • Low sophistication on the side of consumers

14. Questions to Be Answered • Should the professional monopoly be abolished? What is appropriate scope of professional monopoly? • How much competition should be in the market? • How to reduce information asymmetry? • How to protect clients? Continued on Next Slide

15. Questions to Be Answered Continued • How much control should be delegated to the Bars? • How much power should remain in the hands of the Government? • Should the price for services be regulated? • How to enforce this regulation?