major transformation in the past ten years, reflecting both changes within the culture and political economy of the United Kingdom, and those generated by the nature of the legal enterprise itself. The legal industry has become more responsive to economic trends and has thus been raised high on the swell of commercial opulence in the late 1980s only to be dashed onto the cobbles by the ebb tides of recession. A more 'oak-panelled' profession hiding behind sombre doors and small brass nameplates would not have been so buffeted by the winds of change. Real market changes also had their effect on the nature of work carried out. The shadowy threat of competition was little understood by a profession which perceived the coming of licenced conveyancers as a real problem. But the cuts in conveyancing costs between 1983 and 19861 did not hurt the profession which was bolstered by rising house-price inflation which balanced cuts in conveyancing costs. These cuts only began to bite when the conveyancing market itself collapsed and lower fees became the norm. The profession that had relied on conveyancing for more than 60 per cent of its income found that proportion dropping markedly. Not even the staple kinds of work could be relied upon in a changing environment. Other areas which had been reliable began to be less remunerative. Legal aid did not pay quite as well, and firms began to move away from legally aided work. To cap it all, Lord Mackay and the government were pushing further down the line of competition with the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, and the Single Ecomomic Market was bringing with it its own pressures to change the relevant law and legal approach to vast areas of commercial and other legal activities. Lastly, the sudden needs of massive expansion caused by boom, immediately followed by the sudden dearth of vacancies in recession, caused the profession to reconsider its entrance policies. How could the professional bodies ensure that the correct number of new entrants were coming forward, both when the profession needed more, andwhen it needed fewer new lawyers? * Professor of Law, Director, Centre for Business and Professional Law, The