WASHINGTON, DC (April 2, 2024): Southeastern Legal Foundation (SLF) participated Tuesday in a Federalist Society event called, “Legal Licensing Reform: Does the World Need More Lawyers?” The event examined ways in which current licensing requirements for attorneys can have both positive and negative impacts.
Braden Boucek, Vice President of Litigation for SLF, participated in a panel discussion that focused on some of the key reforms needed in the practice of law. Boucek and his co-panelists emphasized the need to make representation more affordable for everyday Americans so that every individual has access to courts of law. The panel builds on a recent paper Boucek and other attorneys wrote as part of the Federalist Society Regulatory Transparency Project.
Some of the ideas discussed in both the panel and paper included calls on the legal profession to adopt tiered licensing to make legal services more affordable. Similar to the medical profession, legal services could be made simpler if lawyers held varying levels of licenses based on factors like expertise and schooling. Legal services could also be more affordable if there were apprenticeship pathways to becoming licensed attorneys.
The panelists also explained that states should adopt universal licensure, meaning that attorneys licensed to practice law in one state should be licensed to practice in all states. This could drive market costs down by opening state borders to competition. A model rule offered by the Regulatory Transparency Project proposes just that.
Following the panel discussion, Boucek stated, “There’s shared agreement across the ideological spectrum for the legal profession to keep apace with the realities of the legal practice. By bringing the rules that govern the practice of law into the 21st Century, we can ensure equal opportunities for rising generations and more affordable legal services for the general public.”
Download press release.