Newly published feedback received by the Solicitor Regulation Authority (SRA) on continuous professional development (CPD) requirements introduced in 2016 has indicated that the changes have been well received by solicitors and law firms. The requirements, known as ‘Continuing Competence’ are available in full here and include requiring solicitors to make an annual declaration of their own…
ICLR 2019: Regulating in Uncomfortable Spaces
The following content has been provided by the panel presenting on this topic during the afternoon on Day 1 of ICLR 2019. Synopsis As recent events have shown, regulating the conduct of lawyers who serve as elected politicians or in public office, as well as those who provide legal services to others in public office,…
UK Competition and Markets Authority to research Scottish legal services market
The Competition and Markets Authority has issued the following press release regarding its impending research into certain aspects of the Scottish legal services market to support the Scottish Government’s response to the Roberton Review. The following release was published 17 June 2019. This work has been prompted by the Roberton Review, an Independent Review of…
Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes Residential Conveyancing thematic review
A review about the service provided by solicitors to the public Published 5 April 2019 Executive summary Buying and selling a property is often the most expensive and important financial commitment a person makes in their life. Having access to reliable and good quality legal support really matters. It not only reduces stress and uncertainty,…
Independent Review of UK Legal Services Regulation Launched
The Centre for Ethics and Law in the UCL Faculty of Laws is undertaking a fundamental review of the current regulatory framework for legal services, led by Honorary Professor Stephen Mayson. The independent review is intended to explore the longer-term and related issues raised by the 2016 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) market study, which concluded that the legal services sector…
Transparency lies at the heart of Consumer Satisfaction
In January, the Legal Services Board (LSB) of England & Wales released its Regulatory Performance: Transitional Assessment Review looking at the transitional assessment of each legal services regulatory body against the LSB’s regulatory performance standards. The report found that it had “sufficient assurance that the regulatory bodies have met the minimum required level of performance…
Enforcing legal conduct to protect quality of legal services
Enforcement of professional codes and laws of conduct is a critical facet of legal regulation. Lawyer misconduct can have severe ramifications for consumers and the wider legal services market, eroding the reputation of the industry and jurisdiction. However, the processes and protocols for reporting misconduct by a legal service provider is often difficult or lengthy…
Incoming Bar chair warns of “nightmare scenario” over regulation
The Bar could be “sleep walking into a nightmare scenario” where new rules mean it has no involvement with its regulator, the incoming chairman of the Bar Council has warned. Richard Atkins QC also suggested that the Legal Services Board (LSB) did not have the evidence to back up its assertion that its proposed internal…
Regulators “must guard against misuse of lawtech”
Artificial intelligence-backed lawtech has the potential to improve access to justice but also carries a danger that automating law will be used negatively, meaning regulators will have to step in, a global innovation charity has warned. Nesta, which is working with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to identify and support transformative AI legal technology, backed…
Asia Pacific lawyers could benefit from no-deal Brexit
If the UK exits the EU without a deal, there would be an end to the current preferential treatment of EU lawyers wishing to practise in England & Wales. The Solicitors Regulation Authority says that the UK Government has made clear that this would be the case if the UK moves to WTO rules, ending…