Thursday, 4 September 2014
LSB Chairman suggests the legal sector should prepare for change
Today, at the Westminster Legal Policy Forum event the future of legal services regulation, Sir Michael Pitt made his first speech as Chairman of the Legal Services Board. In this speech he shares some of his first impressions of, and outlines some of his thoughts regarding the legal sector.
Sir Michael states clearly that many aspects of the English and Welsh legal system are world-class and need nothing more than encouragement and freedom to flourish. However there are other aspects which challenge both our sense of justice and fair play.
In particular, he expresses his view that the weaknesses in the Legal Services Act 2007 and their consequences can no longer be ignored and need to be discussed and addressed.
He states his belief that the time is now right to take a long hard look at legal services regulation so that when the attention of politicians return once more to the legal system, the legal sector itself will be prepared for what comes next. A lack of a consensus on how to proceed risks missing an opportunity.
Stressing that more needs to be done to tailor legal services and reduce their costs to meet the needs of small business and people who are neither wealthy nor eligible for legal aid – Sir Michael suggests that consumer interest, risk and a focus on evidence should be amongst the highest priorities for regulators and practitioners.
The full text of his speech can be found here.
ENDS
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Notes for editors:
- Sir Michael Pitt took over as Chairman of the Legal Services Board on 1 May 2014.
- Information on the Westminster Legal Policy Forum event can be found here.
- The Act created the LSB as a new regulator with responsibility for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales. The new regulatory regime became active on 1 January 2010.
- The LSB oversees nine approved regulators, which in turn regulate individual legal practitioners. The approved regulators, designated under Part 1 of Schedule 4 of the 2007 Act, are the Law Society, the Bar Council, the Master of the Faculties, the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Chartered Institute of Patent Attorneys, the Institute of Trade Mark Attorneys, the Association of Costs Lawyers and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.
In addition, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants are listed as approved regulators in relation only to reserved probate activities.
- As at 1 April 2014, the legal profession comprised 138,243 solicitors, 326 alternative business structures, 15,279 barristers, 7,927 chartered legal executives and 5,404 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The sector was valued at £29.2 billion in 2013 (total turnover).