Regulating the Sharing Economy: New and Old Insights into an Oversight Regime for the Peer-to-Peer Economy

I. Introduction II. Regulation, the Legal Profession, and the Sharing Economy ... A. Latent Resources and an Independent Workforce ... B. Regulation, Independence, and Consumer Protection in a Relationship of Trust ... 1. Attorney-Client Relationships, Trust, and Regulation ... 2. Sharing Economy Relationships, Trust, and Regulation ... C. Consumer Protection in a Relationship Designed to Encourage Creativity and Innovation, While Generating Profit III. The Evolution of Regulation of the Legal Profession … A. Brief History of Regulation of the Legal Profession, from the Colonial to the Contemporary Eras ... B. Key Questions and Themes Underlying the Evolution of the Regulation of the Legal Profession ... 1. Self-Regulation to Secure Professional Independence and Uphold the Rule of Law ... 2. Self-Regulation to Fend Off Regulation by Outside Entities ... 3. Barriers to Entry … 4. The Right to a Livelihood ... C. The Legal Profession’s Regulatory Regime ... 1. Barriers to Entry ... 2. Unauthorized Practice of Law ... 3. Codes of Conduct and Self-Regulation ... 4. Disciplinary Machinery ... 5. An Insurance Regime ... 6. Recourse through the Courts and Tort Liability ... D. New Governance and Regulation of the Legal Profession: Flexibility, Adaptability, and Local Experimentation IV. What the Evolution of the Regulation of the Legal Profession and New Governance Theory Can Tell Us about the Need for and the Contours of Regulation of the Sharing Economy ... A. Self-Regulation, Barriers to Entry, and Codes of Conduct ... B. Disciplinary Machinery ... C. Ongoing Judicial Oversight to Ensure Consumer Protection with “Supervisor” Liability ... D. Insurance Mechanisms ... E. Flexibility, Adaptability, and Local Experimentation V. Conclusio