>More lawyers could afford to charge reasonable market rates, and not work for large firms, if it weren't for the ABA mandating that you have to attend a law school (that results in huge piles of debt) or clerk for years (four in California) in order to join the bar.

That's exactly the problem, regulatory capture of government protected guilds. It's exactly the same with Doctors and the AMA, or electricians, hell in some places even interior decorators.

If you've ever had to hire a commercial electrician, it's absolutely terrible. Once they pull a permit and start working, it's extremely difficult to replace them, and they know it.

Recently the general contractors in Georgia convinced the state to raise the net worth requirement for contractors. They are already required to have massive insurance coverage, so the only reason was to protect the incumbent contractors from new competition.

Anywhere you end up with government sanctioned guilds ran by industry or ex-industry people, you're just asking for regulatory capture and the resulting protectionism.