It is proposed here to study the dynamics of some regulated labour markets. The evidence suggests that many of these markets have recently been undergoing considerable changes due to the need to attract and retain suitable clients. These changes are especially visible in the case of the legally regulated professions, on which this paper focuses in particular. However, as the authors show, the regulatory changes which have been introduced have not necessarily opened up the markets in question. Opening up professions would mean not only increasing the inputs: it would also mean adopting new practices, creating new career paths and providing new scope for mobility in the respective occupational frameworks.