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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, 19 May 2016

LSB recommends new ABS licensing authority

The Legal Services Board has recommended to the Lord Chancellor that the General Council of the Bar (Bar Council), becomes a licensing authority for alternative business structures (ABS).

Should the Lord Chancellor accept this recommendation, the Bar Council will be given the authority, which it will delegate to the Bar Standards Board (BSB), to license ABS entities to provide the following reserved legal activities:

  • the exercise of a right of audience
  • the conduct of litigation
  • reserved instrument activities
  • probate activities, and
  • the administration of oaths.

The Board has also recommended to the Lord Chancellor that the Bar Council be designated as a licensing authority for the provision of immigration advice and services in its capacity as a qualifying regulator.

Legal Services Board's Chairman Sir Michael Pitt said:

"ABS are a valuable contributor to the innovation and increase in consumer choice that we wish to see across the whole legal services sector. We are therefore delighted to be recommending to the Lord Chancellor that the Bar Council becomes a licensing authority for ABS.

The BSB has, on behalf of the Bar Council been able to authorise non-ABS entities since April 2015 and this is the final step in its development as a regulator of entities.

Should the recommendation be accepted, the BSB will join the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Council for Licenced Conveyancers, the Intellectual Property Regulation Board and the Institute of Chartered Accountants for England and Wales in being able to authorise non-lawyer owned legal firms."

ENDS

 

For further information, please contact the LSB's Communications Manager, Vincent McGovern (020 7271 0068).

Notes for editors:

  1. The Legal Service Board's (LSB) recommendation to the Lord Chancellor can be found here.

  2. The LSB granted the licensing authority application made by the Bar Standards Board (BSB) under Part 1 of Schedule 10 to the Legal Services Act 2007 (the Act) on 23 March. Full details of this application and supporting documentation can be found here.

  3. In accordance with section 15(4) of Part 1 of Schedule 10 of the Act, the Lord Chancellor has 90 days to decide whether to make an order in accordance with the recommendation, the deadline for this is 15 August 2016.

  4. The Legal Services Act 2007 (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.

  5. In line with the approach taken by most other licensing authorities, the Bar BSB intends for appeals about licensing decisions to be considered by the First Tier Tribunal (General Regulatory Chamber) (FTT). To achieve this, an order is necessary under section 80 of the Act. The LSB has made a separate recommendation to the Lord Chancellor that such an order be made.

    The powers of the General Council of the Bar will also need to be modified (using an order under section 69 of the Act) so it has the power to make regulations and rules for appeals to be made to the FTT. A formal consultation on this order is due to begin imminently.

  6. 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.

  7. As at 1 April 2015, the legal profession comprised 142,109 solicitors, 326 alternative business structures, 15,237 barristers, 7,848 chartered legal executives and 5,678 other individuals operating in other areas of the legal profession such as conveyancing. The sector is valued at £32 billion per annum (2015) which is up 23% in cash terms since 2012. For more information see here.