법률서비스시장의 진입장벽 - 「법의 지배에 기반한 사회발전」을 위한 비판적 고찰-

Can the lawyers in a society make any contribution to the development of their society? This essay starts with this question to be answered by referring to several social indicators of relevant international institutions. The finding is that the number of lawyers are saliently correlated with the World Bank's rule of law indicators and the CIRI's human rights indicators, which means that the more lawyers practice, the more rule of law and human rights. The economic development has, however, no significant correlationship with the lawyers contrary to the conclusions of S. P. Magee. It can be said that the free and democratic society is indispensible with the considerable size of lawyers, which can exercise salient influences on the execution of law and protection of human rights. The economic market can, as well, be sustained with aid of the lawyers who can clearly set out rights and duties and reduce lots of transaction costs, but the portion that the lawyers can contribute to the economic development seems so marginal that any significant correlationship can be found. From these findings, the solid barrier to entry to the legal services market in Korea can be classified as a kind of barrier to the development of Korean society. Market failures against which state can intervene to private market can be grouped into three categories: asymmetric information, externalities, and undersupply of public goods. The first failures, however, are almost overcome with the development of in-house lawyer system and knowledge-information society. The second one can be cured only by increasing the competetion between the lawyers, while the last one by creating and increasing various kinds of legal services. All are contrary to the Korean situation, where strict regulation of the number of new entry to the legal services market. The highest barrier in the world that the Korean legal system has created has no valid ground for its survival any more.