'Trusted to the ends of the earth'. Outcomes-focused regulation and risk-taking in the legal profession

Essay from the year 2016 in the subject Law - Miscellaneous, grade: commendation, University of London, language: English, abstract: Lawyers 'may be trusted to the ends of the earth'. This statement might not reflect the public opinion anymore. The scandals around lawyers and their legal opinions in the wake of the financial crisis and the publication of the 'Panama Papers' raised the questions, if lawyers satisfy their clients ignoring risks and whether outcomes-focused regulation allows these risks to be ignored due to its wide scope. To answer these questions, this essay will first explain the role of the lawyer to satisfy clients' needs (2.) with regard to the limitations of satisfying the clients' needs (3.) and the risks involved with the dissatisfaction and satisfaction of clients' needs (4.). Following on from these risks, the essay will look at the definition of outcomes-focused regulation and its aim (5.) and whether this approach allows ignoring the risks (6.). This assessment will focus in particular on the guidance to transactions lawyers in commercial practise. For this purpose a transaction lawyer is a solicitor who gives legal advice on a transaction, but does not conduct advocacy.

Maximilian Grimmeiß, Dipl.Jur., hat an der Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg und am Trinity College Dublin Jura mit Schwerpunkt im Bank-und Kapitalmarktrecht studiert. Er war zudem als Hilfskraft am Institut für Strafrecht tätig und arbeitete als Praktikant an der Deutschen Botschaft in Canberra, Australien, und bei Linklaters LLP in Frankfurt a.M. und London. Herr Grimmeiß befindet sich zur Zeit in London auf dem Weg zur Qualifikation als Solicitor of England and Wales.