法律業務的競爭與合作——我國律師業之實證觀察

Competition and Cooperation of the Legal Service: An Empirical Study of the Taiwanese Legal Profession

我國律師面臨國內律師人數遽增，以及其他專業人士相繼投入法律服務的提供，陷入了裡外競爭的困境。現今社會對於法律服務的需求和多樣性越高，關於法律業務應如何管制，關係著各專業人士的執業範圍，也牽涉著接受服務者的信賴和市場的公平秩序。本文透過對於我國律師的大型問卷調查以及與多位律師的深度訪談，描繪出我國律師業務已有訴訟業務與非訟業務分化的樣貌，並依此對於我國目前法律業務市場之規管，提出以下建議：一、因訴訟業務具有兩造對立性，由利害衝突規範相對嚴謹的律師，執行此類業務較其他專業人士合適；二、對於不具有兩造對立性質的非核心法律業務，由保護當事人權益和公平性的角度，應不限律師專辦，但宜以業務種類而非以專業人士業別作為規管的方式。若業務的內容具有同質性者，則法規的監管密度則應予一致，以確保執業公平性和專業品質。又對於上開法律服務監管方向的提議，本文亦建議相關團體如下因應：一、調整我國法學教育偏重訴訟制度知識的養成方式，重視跨域思維和訓練。二、律師公會代表應均衡律師的各種業別，以定出對於整體行業較有利的發展方向。三、律師團體自身主觀保守心態宜開放調整。

With the increase in the number of lawyers and various professions providing legal services, Taiwanese lawyers have faced fierce competition both inside and outside the profession. As the type of legal needs proliferate and diversify, regulating the legal service market for different professionals and the general public is a critical issue for many jurisdictions. This study is the first comprehensive survey of lawyers in Taiwan concerning their scope of practice and background. The results of the survey, along with in-depth interviews are intended to provide an insight into the Taiwanese legal profession through the lens of competition and regulatory schemes. The results suggest that: (1) The monopoly of core legal practice is justifiable because of its nature and rigorous ethical rules for lawyers, and (2) Non-core legal services with no adversarial nature can be provided by other professionals rather being limited to lawyers. Also, regulatory standards should be divided by services rather than by professions for equality among professionals and consumer protection. This article further provides several suggestions for Taiwanese lawyers to respond to such proposals.