The Regulation of Legal Education and the Legal Profession in Mexico: An Ongoing Battle

• Author: Ximena Medell'in Urquiaga
• Position: Assistant Professor of Law at Centro de Investigacio´n y Docencia Econo´micas (CIDE), Mexico City. Coordinator of the Law Degree Program at CIDE.
• Pages: 425-444

The Regulation of Legal Education and the

Legal Profession in Mexico: An Ongoing Battle

X

IMENA

M

EDELL´

IN

U

RQUIAGA

1

During the past forty years, Mexico has experienced a process of

modernization and openness to external actors. It has become an

enthusiastic participant in different international fora, actively promoting

globalization in political, social, and economic spheres. Mexico has also

updated its own national legal system to become more competitive and

attractive to foreign investment. Structural constitutional reforms have

combined with international agreements, transparency laws, and

institutional building in areas such as human rights, electoral processes, and

economic competition. The overall image is that of a healthy and

sustainable state, with a solid juridical framework, and a thriving legal

community.

Despite these positive developments, Mexico is a country where

inequalities still permeate all aspects of its social, political, and economic life.

Inequalities also affect the legal profession, seriously endangering individual

rights of access to justice, due process guarantees, and ultimately, Estado de

Derecho.

For example, during a recent Congressional hearing on the regulation of

lawyers, it was argued that the quality of legal services can substantially

fluctuate from one legal field to another.

2

There are also noticeable

variations in opportunities to access qualified legal representation

throughout different regions in the country.

3

Clients in Mexico City may

have a greater choice from among a wide range of professionals. This may

not be the case in other states and even less so in rural communities.

4

There

can also be a sharp difference in professional fees associated with, but not

necessarily correlated to, the quality of legal services. Good lawyers will

normally be more expensive, leaving vast sectors of the population without

adequate representation. Bearing in mind the intricate nature of the

Mexican legal system, the lack of legal assistance has become a serious

obstacle in gaining access to justice for most people.

1. Assistant Professor of Law at Centro de Investigaci´on y Docencia Econ´omicas (CIDE),

Mexico City. Coordinator of the Law Degree Program at CIDE.

2. Public congressional hearing on the Promotion of Quality Legal Professional Services,

PDF format, http://www.senado.gob.mx/comisiones/puntos_constitucionales/docs/Audiencias/

AudienciasPD_version090915.pdf (last visited Oct. 20, 2016).

3. Id.

4. Id.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

AN ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF THE ABA/SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH

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426 THE INTERNATIONAL LAWYER [VOL. 50, NO. 3

Amidst an ongoing debate on the regulation of lawyers in Mexico, this

paper explores some relevant features of the juridical framework governing

both legal education and legal practice. In particular, this paper analyzes the

possible relationship between such regulation and some prevailing problems

with legal services in Mexico. This paper does not suggest that regulation is

the sole determining factor of the said problems; rather, it argues that

regulation can be an influential element. Thus, debates on social conflicts

associated with the operation of the legal system ought to consider how the

ways in which lawyers are regulated can perpetuate shortcomings and

exacerbate such conflicts.

This paper is divided into four main sections. The first is devoted to

analyzing the regulation of legal education. This section also includes a

general review of the current state of law schools in Mexico. The second

section is focused on regulation of the legal profession. It also explores some

current debates on reform of the legal framework for regulating lawyers.

The third section offers some general information about the Mexican

regulation on transnational lawyering. The last section presents some

general conclusions.

I. Regulation of Legal Education in Mexico

Recent academic studies have examined in detail the development of legal

education in Mexico over the last forty years.

5

This paper does not attempt

to duplicate those studies, but rather aims at connecting some problems

associated with legal education in Mexico to its legal framework. The

premise is that the rules governing legal education are inadequate to assure

the appropriate operation of law schools. Given the importance of legal

education, guaranteeing its quality is a social imperative. Deficiencies in the

training of law students will negatively influence professional practice and, in

turn, may perpetuate inherent problems of the legal system.

A. G

ENERAL

B

ACKGROUND

One distinctive characteristic of the Mexican context is the disproportion

between the number of law schools and the total population. The Centro de

5. See, e.g., Ayll´on, Sergio L ´opez y Fix-Fierro, H´ector, “Cambio jur´ıdico y autonom´ıa del

derecho: un modelo de la transici´on jur´ıdica en M´exico,” Estado de derecho y transici ´on

jur´ıdica, 2002; Serna de la Garza, Jos´e Mar´ıa y Ju´arez, Jos ´e Antonio Caballero, “Estado de

derecho y transici´on jur´ıdica”, Universidad Nacional Aut ´onoma de M´exico, 2002, p. 112;

Ayll´on, Sergio L ´opez y Fix-Fierro, H ´ector, “ ‘¡Tan cerca, tan lejos!’ Estado de derecho y cambio

jur´ıdico en M´exico (1970-2000, UNAM, 2000; Fix-Fierro, H´ector, “Culturas Jur´ıdicas Latinas

de Europa y Am´erica en Tiempos de Globalizaci ´on”, 2003, p. 565; Lever, Lorenza Villa,

“Modernizaci´on de la educaci ´on superior, alternancia pol´ıtica y desigualdad en M´exico”, 2013,

p. 81; Ayll´on, Sergio L ´opez y Fix-Fierro, H´ector, “Del gobierno de los abogados al imperio de

las leyes: estudios sociojur´ıdicos sobre educaci ´on y profesi´on jur´ıdicas en el M´exico

contempor´aneo”, 2006, p. 5; Hurtado, Luis Fernando P´erez, “Content, Structure, and Growth

of Mexican Legal Education,” Journal of Legal Education, May 2010.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

AN ANNUAL PUBLICATION OF THE ABA/SECTION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW

PUBLISHED IN COOPERATION WITH

SMU DEDMAN SCHOOL OF LAW