Flexible Accumulation and the Emergence of the ‘Commercialised Professional’

Abstract

One of the things suggested in Chapter 3 was that law firms were changing their structures and control processes in light of the demands of powerful clients. It was argued there that these clients had begun to develop strong internal legal departments and that this trend was driven by a bid to control external lawyers. As such, this bid represents an attempt to limit the unpredictability of the market-place. Clients are attempting to make the market more predictable by attacking the issues of price and quality. It is the latter issue that this chapter will deal with — namely imposing a definition of quality. Put another way, what is now considered to be good lawyering, and how do firms deliver this? Chapter 3 also examined the state as a client and manager of legal services; however, given the lack of data, this chapter will not analyse the impact of the state on law firm structure. Instead, it will concentrate on how large law firms have responded to the increasingly demanding corporate client.