It is strike season in Italy, and lawyers are leading the pack. Hundreds, if not thousands, of legal cases are being pushed back on court dockets, delayed well into the fall and winter because lawyers are refusing to participate in hearings. The lawyers are protesting a series of changes proposed by the new center-left government of Prime Minister Romano Prodi. The reforms would allow lawyers to advertise and to change their fee structures so they could claim a percentage of settlements in civil cases. The law also would eliminate a fee minimum.
See "Court Is Adjourned in Italy as Lawyers Go on Strike", Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times, July 20, 2006