Legal Services and the GATS: Norms as Barriers to Trade

Abstract

The author posits that the tension within the legal profession between guild protection and the desire for more open trade opportunities for exporting legal services mirrors the "law as profession"/'law as business" debate. He concludes that resistance to open trade in legal services at the GATS has been anchored in core values rhetoric. While the legal profession thus far has been successful in resisting international encroachment on traditional domestic practice models, that protectionism sets up a clash between the legal profession's traditional values and the deepening global integration agenda for which domestic governments are pressing.

Keywords: legal services, GATS, legal profession, Canada, NAFTA

JEL Classification: F14, K33, K49