Consultation launched on the maximum financial penalty for ABS

The Legal Services Board has today published a short consultation on proposals for the maximum penalty which can be imposed by a Licensing Authority on an Alternative Business Structure (ABS). The process for setting this limit is set out by the Legal Services Act 2007 and provides that the LSB must make rules by Statutory Instrument with the approval of the Lord Chancellor.

This issue has been consulted on previously as part of wider work on the rules relating to the licensing framework for ABS. A number of responses were received from stakeholders, with the proposals setting out that the LSB favoured a position where no financial limit was set for the penalty. In the light of discussions with the Ministry of Justice we are now setting out an alternative approach that will be the subject of a specific, focused and short consultation.