Law society

Law society

A Law Society in current and former Commonwealth jurisdictions was historically an association of solicitors (effectively the trade organisation for solicitors) with a regulatory role that included the right to supervise the training, qualifications and conduct of lawyers/solicitors. Where there is a distinction between barristers and solicitors, solicitors were regulated by the law societies and barristers by a separate Bar Council. [1]

Much has changed for law societies in recent years, with governments in Australia, New Zealand, England and Wales, and now Scotland (2010) creating government sponsored regulators for lawyers (both barristers and solicitors), leaving to law societies the role of advocacy on behalf of their members.

In Canada, law societies have had statutory responsibility for regulation of the legal profession in the public interest, leaving advocacy to the Canadian Bar Association.

In the United States, unified bar associations are somewhat similar to Law Societies, however there are differences between law societies and the general American phenomenon of bar associations. Usually a bar association is an association of lawyers; lawyers may or may not join as they wish. Regulation of American lawyers usually takes places through the courts, which decide who gets admitted as a lawyer, and also decide discipline cases. Law societies are often created by legislation and play (or played) significant direct roles in the training, licensing and disciplining of lawyers. The conflict or roles between being a regulator and a trade association is seen by many as giving rise to the recent move to government sponsored regulators.

Law Societies also play a role as part of the justice system, and concern themselves with access to justice. As a result, they may offer paid and unpaid legal assistance to the public or specific target audiences, and have historically been involved in the development of legal aid plans.


Contents

See also

Law Societies in the British Islands and Ireland

Law Societies elsewhere

External links

Law Societies in the British Islands and Ireland

Canadian Law Societies

Australian Law Societies

New Zealand Law Societies

South African Law Societies

Law Societies of Other Nations

References

  1. ^ In Scotland barristers are called Advocates and are members of and regulated by the Faculty of Advocates.

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужно решить контрольную?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Law Society — the body that both regulates and controls solicitors in England. It was constituted by royal charter in 1845. It is responsible for the legal education of solicitors, issuing practising certificates and preserving minimum standards of behaviour.… …   Law dictionary

  • Law Society of Northern Ireland — the body that performs in Northern Ireland the functions that the Law Society performs in England and Wales and the Law Society of Scotland provides in Scotland. Collins dictionary of law. W. J. Stewart. 2001 …   Law dictionary

  • Law Society of Scotland — the statutory body that both represents and controls solicitors in Scotland, established initially by the Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1949. Its executive body is the elected Council and day to day business is administered by a permanent secretariat …   Law dictionary

  • Law Society — ˈLaw Soˌciety noun LAW ORGANIZATIONS the professional organization in England and Wales that deals with the education and interests of solicitor S, and also makes sure that they act within the law and treat their clients fairly …   Financial and business terms

  • Law Society — Law So|ci|e|ty, the an organization for members of the legal profession in the UK. The Law Society is in charge of the education and training of lawyers, and is responsible for making sure that they do their jobs in a professional and honest way …   Dictionary of contemporary English

  • Law Society — noun The solicitors governing body for England and Wales • • • Main Entry: ↑law …   Useful english dictionary

  • Law Society — the professional organization to which all solicitors in England and Wales belong. It holds examinations for those wishing to enter the profession, establishes rules for professional practice and deals with complaints against its members. There… …   Universalium

  • Law & Society Review — is a leading journal in the field of law and society. It was founded by the Law and Society Association in 1966 and published by Blackwell Publishing. It has four issues per volume per year.External links* [http://www.lawandsociety.org Law and… …   Wikipedia

  • Law Society of Upper Canada — The Law Society of Upper Canada (LSUC) is responsible for the self regulation of lawyers and paralegals in the Canadian province of Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1797, it is known in French as Le Barreau du Haut Canada . The motto of the Society is …   Wikipedia

  • Law Society of Ireland — The Law Society of Ireland (in Irish: Dlí Chumann na hÉireann) is the educational, representative and regulatory body of the solicitors profession in the Republic of Ireland. As of 2007, the Law Society had over ten thousand members, all of whom… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”