This article tells the story of attempts to improve the regulation of lawyers in Victoria, Australia 1975-2012. It also tells the parallel story of one Victorian solicitor, Issac Brott, who was the subject of multiple complaints about his conduct during that same period of time but against whom professional discipline proved both ineffective and irrelevant.

This article is currently available as a free download on ingentaconnect.

This article is currently available as a free download on ingentaconnect.

This article provides an overview of some of the key questions about the regulation of professions and examples of research carried out to assist in providing answers to those questions. It discusses two key issues demanding empirical answers that have caused a degree of tension between the interests of the profession and the public in regulation, and the most effective methods of regulating professions. It looks at studies and the important relationship between theory and practice. Empirical studies have proved essential (...) in testing theories critical of the public, regarding the claims of professions themselves. This article also concerns empirical studies that have sought to provide insight into the possible tension that might exist between the interests of the profession and the public in regulation before moving to the question of the most effective regulatory “mix” for professions. (shrink)

This article is currently available as a free download on ingentaconnect.