Redefining Professionalism in the Legal and Accounting Marketplace: An Empirical Study of Students, Graduates and Experienced Legal and Accounting Participants in South-East Qld. Aust.

Abstract

The literature abounds with claims that the professions, including law and accounting, have discarded the service element of their role and that the meaning of professionalism is changing, yet there is very little empirical research to support these declarations. There are, in the literature, some studies that report on the entry process to being a professional, the backgrounds of professionals, the structure of legal firms in terms of their specialisations, and the professional/client relationship, but these studies do not specifically ask practitioners about their understandings of professionalism and how those understandings affect the way that they practice. Reference will be made to some of these studies but the study will mainly focus on the findings of the empirical work undertaken.