Is There Something to Be Worried About?

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Lawyers have an upward sloping supply curve. Anything that pushes up the demand is going to mean they make more than they otherwise would. But liability policy, where clearly we have demonstrated huge costs and questions about whether off-setting benefits exist. Even the Obama administration is looking to try to curb regulatory excesses. Good luck with that.

Clifford Winston of the Brookings Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the market for lawyers and the role of lawyers in the political process. Drawing on a new co-authored book, First Thing We Do, Let's Deregulate All the Lawyers, Winston argues that restrictions on the supply of lawyers and increases in demand via government regulation artificially boost lawyers' salaries. Deregulation of the supply (by eliminating licensing) would lower price and encourage innovation.