Law360 – States across the country are considering changes to attorney regulations, or have made changes, that would open up the legal sector to more participation from nonlawyers.

“llinois is poised to launch an official exploration into opening up the legal profession to nonlawyers, in what some say could be a “tipping point” for such efforts to increase access to legal help, despite heated attorney opposition in places like California…Jordan Furlong, a legal market analyst and author of several books on the legal sector, said that if Illinois becomes the next state to look at opening up the profession by loosening regulations on fee-sharing and the unauthorized practice of law, the U.S. will likely have reached a “tipping point.” “I think that’s the point it becomes a trend and a movement that starts to sweep across jurisdictions,” Furlong said. The idea behind the reforms is that more robust competition in the sector could help close the country’s access to justice gap by lowering costs and increasing options for consumers…”