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Law Society NEWS
6 October 2009
Legal Regulation Review - Report Published
The Law Society has published Lord Hunt of Wirral's report into the regulation of legal services. Lord Hunt was commissioned by the Law Society in October 2008 to advise on what was needed to establish best modern practice in the regulation of solicitors.
In his report, Lord Hunt makes a series of recommendations on the regulation of legal services, including:
- SRA Regular reviews
The SRA should be subjected to regular, independent reviews of all its functions. - LSB and Law Society
The Legal Services Board and the professional body of the Law Society should consider combining with other regulators and professional bodies across legal services. - Rule 1 of the Code of Conduct
Rule 1 should be regarded as the foundation stone of principles-based regulation such that it should have "superior status" explicitly attributed to it as part of the transition to principles-based regulation. - CPD
Minimum annual CPD hours should remain at 16 hours but 50% of those hours (i.e. 8 hours per annum) should be met by focused and accredited courses. CPD should also include a prescribed element of refresher compliance training for all solicitors. - Oath
When they first receive their LPC, solicitors should be required to make a declaration akin to the Hippocratic Oath sworn by doctors. - Non-mandatory accreditation
Law Society should devise, establish and sustain non-mandatory accreditation schemes for Heads of Legal Practice and Heads of Finance and Administration. - Authorised Internal Regulation
Lord Hunt has advocated a system which he describes as Authorised Internal Regulation (AIR) system. AIR will be available to all firms (not just those concentrating on corporate work) who 'demonstrate their willingness and ability to set up internal governance standards that are robust enough to secure compliance'. It expected that it will be larger corporate firms who will be the first to adopt this approach but it is envisaged that eventually any firm could be regulated under the AIR regime. - Extending the Regulatory Net to include Will Writing, Claims Management Companies and all of Probate
At present only a few legal activities, principally advocacy, litigation and conveyancing, are deemed to be "reserved activities" which can only be carried out by lawyers. Lord Hunt says that "those activities which 'smell' like a reserved legal activity should become one" and concluded that their should be a move towards increased consumer protection by bringing will-writing within the list of "reserved activities". - Legal professionalism translated into regulatory principles
Lord Hunt says in his report that it is essential to base any regulatory system in a 'strong and transparent theoretical framework'. This ensures that it has the necessary resilience and flexibility to adapt to the changing world in which it operates. Legal professionalism, rooted firmly in the concept of the rule of law, provides a sound base for the regulator to build on. For this reason solicitors must produce a concise, compelling and passionate argument about the benefits of professionalism within the legal sphere. Legal regulators can learn from lessons learnt this year to create a more robust and better balanced principles-based regulatory system. - Alternative Business Structures (ABS)
ABS should be subject to the same regulatory requirements that govern other law firms. They should satisfy the governance and compliance criteria applied to law firms under the AIR regime and should be regulated according to similar principles.
To read a copy of Lord Hunt's report, please visit the Law Society's website or for a link to the document, click here
SRA NEWS
30 September 2009 - SRA invites tenders for coordinated regulatory legal services
The SRA is inviting tenders from firms to provide regulatory legal services.
The SRA is seeking to appoint a panel for three years who can successfully coordinate:
- dealing with court proceedings arising from interventions into law firms
- representation in recovery litigation
- defending and pursuing judicial review applications to include human rights challenges
- regulatory appeals
- providing legal advice on a variety of subjects such as regulatory issues, data protection, freedom of information, and relevant aspects of European law.
The successful applicants will need to demonstrate their commitment to promoting equality and diversity and their experience and expertise in professional regulatory work, and be of good standing.
This is the first time that the SRA has held a tender for this type of work. Until now the SRA, and previously the Law Society, has instructed a small number of firms on an ad hoc basis.
Firms wishing to tender can apply for a tender pack by email from litigationtender@sra.org.uk or, for an alternative format, contact the SRA's Head of Legal, Jennifer Johnson, on 01926 439706.
The closing date for requests is 9 October 2009, and applications must be submitted by 14.00 on 30 October 2009.
LSC NEWS
11 September 2009 - West Sussex CLAs
Tenders are invited for the provision of an integrated Community Legal Advice service (CLAs) in West Sussex.
The invitation for tenders is being made jointly by the eight county, district and borough councils of West Sussex and the Legal Services Commission.
The invitation for tender document can be downloaded from the West Sussex County Council website
http://www.westsussex.gov.uk or by clicking here.
The deadline for the submission of tenders is 12 noon on 13 November 2009.
Archive News
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