Liberalizing International Trade in Legal Services: A Proposal for an Annex on Legal Services Under the General Agreement on Trade in Services

The legal services industry is experiencing a fundamental transformation. Thirty years ago, legal markets were almost exclusively national; today, a global legal market is emerging and evolving at a considerable pace. Unfortunately, further globalization is hindered by the failure of national regulatory systems to respond effectively. Globalization has made domestic regulation more difficult because it increases the complexity of the interactions between lawyers, the legal system, and the authorities responsible for regulating the legal profession. As the process of globalization has blurred the distinction between national and international legal issues, an international regulatory regime governing transnational legal practice has become essential. However, national authorities have resisted the creation of such a regime, and transnational legal practice remains largely unregulated. Because the most important factor inhibiting the further globalization of the legal services industry is the current structure of national regulations, this Note proposes the creation of a system to impose multinational discipline on the exercise of authority by domestic regulators of the legal profession.