By Jonathan Goldsmith2021-01-07T11:35:00+00:00
The Legal Services Board (LSB) has launched a
consultation on its Draft strategy for legal services regulation and draft business plan 2021-22 , which will close on 5 February 2021.
Jonathan Goldsmith
We all know that one of the principal drivers behind the Legal Services Act 2007 was to ensure that the regulation of lawyers was no longer undertaken by lawyers.
But an unforeseen consequence was that regulation was taken away from democratic bodies like the Law Society (maybe imperfectly democratic, but democratic nevertheless, with elections for Council seats) and given to an overarching organisation whose members are appointed by the state.
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The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published annual reports on the performance of the eight legal services regulatory bodies.
Each organisation regulates different types of lawyers and carries out its responsibilities in different ways. Nevertheless, they have the same responsibilities under the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) and are assessed against the same 27 outcomes across five standards. The standards are: regulatory approach, authorisation, supervision, enforcement, and well-led: governance and leadership.
The performance of most of the regulatory bodies has improved since the last assessment in November 2019. Notably, the Council of Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) have met all the outcomes required across all standards.
CMA publishes review of progress in legal services sector
The CMA’s assessment of changes in the legal services sector since its market study has found some positive developments but concludes more progress is needed.
From:
17 December 2020
The CMA made recommendations to legal services regulators to improve transparency by legal firms on price, service and quality to help customers navigate the sector more easily and get value for money. It also recommended that the Government consider whether those using unauthorised providers need stronger protections and that the regulatory framework be reviewed for the longer term.
Transparency
There are clear signs of progress. For example, many more legal firms are now providing information on price, service, redress and regulatory status to help consumers shop around. However, while the evidence suggests that some customers are taking advantage of the changes, there is still work to do as there only appears to have been a limited
By Michael Cross2020-12-17T12:12:00+00:00
Requiring law firms to publish information on prices has so far made little impression on competition and outcomes, the competition watchdog admitted today. In an assessment of progress since its 2016 market study, which found the legal services sector was not working well for consumers , the Competition and Markets Authority reports today that more work needs to be done on transparency. It also calls for reform of the Legal Services Act, saying the case is compelling .
On transparency, the review finds clear signs of progress , saying that many more firms provide information to help clients shop around. However, while the evidence suggests that some customers are taking advantage of the changes, there is still work to do as there only appears to have been a limited impact on the intensity of competition between providers and on sector outcomes.
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