In the United States, legal services are regulated primarily at the state or jurisdictional level through rules of professional conduct targeting lawyers, as well as statutes and regulations that apply to both lawyers and other providers of law-related services.
Regarding rules of professional conduct, every state and the District of Columbia have adopted, at least in part, the American Bar Association’s Model Rules of Professional Conduct. This survey highlights six specific Model Rules that might impact the provision of legal services. For instance, jurisdictions adopting Model Rule 1.2(c) allow lawyers to provide limited scope representation.
Beyond rules of professional conduct, states also enact other provisions relating to the delivery of legal services more broadly, such as statutes on the unauthorized practice of law and rules allowing other professionals to deliver law-related services (e.g., Limited License Legal Technicians in Washington State). This survey identifies such provisions.
This survey indicates that few jurisdictions have implemented regulatory changes with the potential to significantly impact legal service delivery. However, in recent years, several states have begun to adopt or explore more substantial regulatory reforms. This survey aims to be a continuously updated resource tracking these efforts and related developments to enhance information accessibility. This survey is not advocating to any one position, rather is a catalogue of regulatory changes being considered.
Additionally, this survey seeks to catalogue research on the relationship between regulatory changes and improvements in legal service delivery. Further empirical studies are needed to measure the impact of such reforms on access to justice. Social scientists and legal scholars are actively pursuing this research, and this survey aims to provide data that can inform further analysis of the outcomes of regulatory changes and their influence on the justice system.
Feedback on this survey is welcomed, especially regarding identified categories or overlooked regulatory changess, particularly those related to new legal service delivery models.