The paradox of the Italian Reform of The Legal Profession: Better Quality of the Service or Less Free Competition?

The discussion paper aims to evaluate the compatibility of the law on the liberal and “regulated professions" introduced in Italy (d.P.R. n. 137/2012 and the law on legal profession, l. n. 247/2012) with the principles established by the European directives. Moreover it aims to evaluate the ways through which the reform of the legal profession influences access to the profession, also in terms of employment, and verify whether the new standards required can really guarantee a better quality of the service offered by the professionals to protect the rights of the citizens or whether they just introduce restrictions on the access to the profession, as opposed to the principle of free competition.