Come now. You mean the highly regulated, more competitive world of law? That too, as it is practiced in America? The once capital of economic competition?

That “cartel”?

Vs the leaders of an industry that built their tools through insane amounts of copyright infringement, and have forced the coining of “enshittification” to describe all pervasive business strategies?

The same industry which employs acqui-hire to find ways to cull competition?

The industry where you can be a paralegal for 20 years, but not allowed to even attempt to take the bar exam because you haven't paid your $250K and 3 years lost earnings to get your degree from the lawyer's cartel? That "competitive" industry?

Yes, it's very competitive. If you were in the unfortunate position of needing a state-appointed attorney to represent you against fallacious claims, you would appreciate the scrutiny and regulation that by and large provides fair representation to all. The legal profession believes that 3 years of study is required for all lawyers to fully immerse themselves in the study of law, and without that, something could be lost. Many lawyers think the third year is probably overkill, but these are also amongst the smarter lawyers that also recognize that many people will come to the profession with no prior interest, and that overall, it's preferable to enforce high standards. You could somehow test for whatever it is law school transmits to its pupils, and offer the exam that guarantees that lawyers have been exposed to and in some sense understood all the various aspects of the degree, but then the exam just becomes more difficult and law school becomes even more of a prerequisite. Lawyers are like airline pilots in that lives are always in the balance, and even more critically, they are foundational pillars of a just society and allowing "just anyone, even a smart test taker" to become a lawyer is less favorable than trying to improve on the current system.