Pushing the boundaries: the impact of the changing nature of the professions in construction law.

Christie, David S.

Abstract

The way in which the role of the professions is understood in society is changing. One of the traditional effects of being a profession was that the relevant group was regarded as having a virtual monopoly over the provision of services in the area in which it operated. As the understanding of what a 'profession' is has been put under pressure and changed, there is increasing scope for competition between the professions in the provision of particular services. There is increasing scope for 'turf wars' between professions as the boundaries between them are tested through competition for work. This is particularly apparent in the construction industry where there are number of traditional professions operating in similar fields - and in conjunction with other roles which have many 'profession-like' features. Much of this requires commercial and sociological consideration. These will be discussed briefly but the focus of this paper will be on the emerging legal issues in this area. This article looks at recent cases where the courts have looked at issues which arise when professions encroach upon each other's areas of operation. Moreover, in Scotland, a new 'profession' drawing on those with construction industry experience has been granted rights to essentially compete with the legal profession in presenting cases in court. Following discussion of these developments, the lessons this might have for the future coexistence of the professions will be discussed.

Citation

CHRISTIE, D.S. 2016. Pushing the boundaries: the impact of the changing nature of the professions in construction law. Construction law journal [online], 32(8), pages 849-860. Available from: http://westlaw.co.uk

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 30, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Oct 31, 2016
• Publication Date: Oct 31, 2016
• Deposit Date: Nov 23, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 1, 2017
• Journal: Construction law journal
• Print ISSN: 0267-2359
• Electronic ISSN: 0267-2359
• Publisher: Sweet and Maxwell
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 32
• Issue: 8
• Pages: 849-860
• Keywords: Commercial attorneys; Construction professionals; Legal profession; Rights of audience; Scotland
• Public URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10059/1978
• Publisher URL: https://westlaw.co.uk