Hybrid Forms of Professional Regulation: Comparing US Accountants and English Lawyers

Recent decades have seen a global shift away from the traditional self-regulation of the professions toward hybrid forms of regulation in which professions, the state, and market actors all play significant roles. Focusing on the cases of the the legal profession in England and Wales and the accounting profession in the United States, this comparative study seeks to conceptualize the regulatory model that is replacing traditional self-regulation and analyze its amalgam of self-regulation, state regulation, and “regulation” by market forces. The study also aims to evaluate the effectiveness of this new regulatory model in protecting both clients and the public.