A more practical, effective intervention would be to let lawyers retain their monopoly, but only on the condition that they truly serve the public. This means that there must be more citizens and clients involved in running the profession, that lawyers must be answerable to someone other than themselves, that they pay for their monopolistic privilege by contributing a share of their fees to funding legal services for poorer litigants, and that fees are regulated for price as well as quality. While there's much talk of a glut of lawyers, there are actually too few, if the standard is whether people can find a lawyer at a reasonable price. We need more lawyers and a more diverse profession that is prepared to fulfill its obligations to do justice. Making money and doing good are not antithetical, but lawyers must remember which is to be master.
Courts can play a decisive role.
By acting forcefully against lawyers, Mr. McMurtry can be Chief Justice in spirit as well as name. After all, we're committed to the Rule of Law, not the rule of lawyers. What's good for lawyers is not necessarily good for everyone else. Allan C. Hutchinson, who teaches law at Osgoode Hall at York University, admits he has charged his share of legal fees.