Deregulation, quality and access—The case of legal professionals in Poland

Abstract

This article provides a comprehensive assessment of changes in the quality of legal services in Poland. From 2005 to 2015, changes in the regulatory framework facilitated access to legal professions in Poland, providing a space for employment growth. Our analysis showed that an increase in the number of legal professionals following deregulation did not lead to a decline in the quality of legal services in any dimensions.However, it coincided with improved access to legal services.The results were based on a comprehensive survey conducted among consumers of legal services. The survey used the SERVQUAL approach previously adopted by the Legal Services Consumers Panel in England and Wales and focused principally on the process and outcome measures to capture the changes in quality of legal services. The mostly negative results pointing to no significant changes were confirmed by the secondary analysis based on a survey of judges, a group of professionals capable of objectively assessing the quality of lawyers' work. Their reports supported the claim of the lack of decline in legal service quality following the reduction in barriers to entry to legal professions.

What Does It Take to Be a Good Lawyer? The Underpinnings of Success in a Rapidly Growing Legal Market

“…With a decline in other factors, especially that of professionalism, there is a risk that reduced regulation might lead to the oversupply of low-quality services, while failing to provide sufficient high-quality services and efficient legal processes at the macro level [6]. Even though our study and earlier studies on the Polish market did not confirm this effect [38], a significant tilt in the importance of market-oriented skills is undeniable. This increased importance of marketing skills should be closely monitored, as marketing is believed to have a potentially damaging impact on consumers' perceptions of social norms [39] and thus can lead to lawyers not serving the society but to serving merely their own private interests.…”

“…The reforms in Poland were probably indispensable, and their character probably fits into the general European trend to deregulate professions [41]. In their recent article, Białowolski and Masior [38] show that deregulation in Poland, especially in the context of growing demand, did not result in a deterioration in the quality of service, while at the same time it contributed to broadened access to legal professionals. However, the argument provided by the present study suggests that complete deregulation of legal professions might also not be the best course of action for the sustainable development of the economy and for the quality of services provided.…”

Labour market impacts of occupational licensing and delicensing: New evidence from China

“…Fewer articles have discussed the occupational licensing system in transition economies, where market competition has been minimal or heavily controlled. Examples include Poland (Białowolski & Masior, 2021; Rojek & Masior, 2016), China (Chi et al., 2017) and Russia (Kukaev et al., 2020). Unlike the United States and other developed economies, China administers all occupation qualification assessments and credential granting at the national level.…”