Let me be more specific about the phrase 'solo practising lawyer'. It covers a range of practice types where there is a single licensed lawyer plying his/her trade.
Imaging a spectrum of complexity, at one end is the proverbial rural or small town sole practitioner, usually in general practice, with a staff of one trusted clerical secretary. This type of practice is most vulnerable, and no doubt has seen a continuous diminution these last 40 years. My guess is that those courageous souls who have pursued this path recently are struggling and have regrets.
At the other end of the spectrum might be a sole lawyer with a large complement of staff, who operates in a narrow specialized field. There is greater hope for the survival of this type of practice, but I figure only with a proviso. The proviso being that the firm have on the payroll a staff person attending to regulatory compliance matters, and ensuring that the practice keeps abreast of the ever growing, always changing, regulatory regime.
Know that I say these things with a confidence that comes from over 30 years of experience in the profession, 20 of those operating solo. The first 12 years of my trade were in a small firm that I co-founded with a contemporary, and it faced many of the same challenges that solo firms have. And I have come to the conclusion that for a new entrant, the hills are too steep, the costs too onerous, and the obstacles too numerous for any sensible prospect of success.
Following I aim to catalogue some of the regulatory burdens that a law firm faces. But before doing that it is important to observe that other factors are at play besides the regulatory landscape. Most notable of these is the increasing complexity of the laws that beset every practice area.
It is difficult to understate the magnitude of changes in the law, even as it affects a narrow practice area. It is also difficult to describe the scope of the changes in the last generation for a particular practice area. Consider this though. Take Real Estate practice; helping individuals and organizations buy, sell and finance real estate. Thirty years ago at the local courthouse law library there were perhaps a dozen textbooks on topics related to real estate law. Of these, maybe 4 or 5 would have been considered classics, and these were the kind that would have seen multiple editions. By that I mean every few years the classic text would have been updated to reflect changes in the law, and a new edition number would be given to the text. The nomenclature sounded authoritative: "Falconbridge on Mortgages, 4th ed." A practitioner could be confident that if the answer to the question being searched for wasn't in Falconbridge, then the question was likely spurious.
Apart from the texts there were other library resources, namely the digests and related reference books. The 3 or 4 heavy weight publications were 20 plus volume affairs, with all areas of the law covered. Real estate law was a big chapter in each. And every 3 to 5 years, these resources would be updated to deal with new laws and new court decisions.
Over time publishers increased the frequency of updates. At one point it was annual. Then 3 or 4 times a year. Then monthly. And now, by the miracle of electronic communications, it is by the minute, as new laws or passed, or new court case decisions are released.
All this to say that just keeping up to the substantive changes in a particular field is a serious task that compels commitment and diligence. Sadly for the practising lawyer, the usual compensation scheme for legal services does not synchronize with the demands of keeping up. Reading and studying new material is not considered "billable time". For those efforts there is no direct compensation.
Now back to the regulatory issues. Even more dramatic than changes to the substantive law, practitioners are inundated with frequent and novel demands that require attention and effort. Mess up on one of these demands and you might just kiss your license to practice adieu. And don't be bothering to ask le Bon Dieu for help in time of need.
Here, just for snooks, is a list of some of the big regulatory changes I have encountered in my time to date.
Oversized Annual Reporting requirements for membership - Law Society of Upper Canada
Oversized Annual Reporting requirements for mandatory errors and omissions insurance
- per file levies for civil litigation and real estate - report quarterly
- dollar volume of billings based levy (since discontinued
Conflict of Interest checking requirements, and restrictions
Privacy laws and freedom of information access
- establish policy
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Hiring Protocols for articling clerks
Expanded Human Rights protections for certain groups
Accommodating clients and staff with disabilities
GST and HST requirements to bill, collect, report and remit (independent of whether there was collection) with an extremely convoluted and complex set of rules.
