The Legal Services Board (LSB) released its Annual Report for the financial year ending March 31, 2024. The report outlines the LSB’s efforts to ensure that legal regulation adapts to serve societal needs more effectively.
Key developments in 2023-24 were the LSB’s first assessment of legal regulators against its new performance framework, which revealed the need for more efforts around consumer and public needs.
Professional ethics were also a focus of work in the past year. The LSB conducted a literature review exploring how the rule of law is applied by legal professionals, and took a leading role in a government taskforce addressing the misuse of non-disclosure agreements and strategic litigation against public participation.
The LSB also commissioned an independent review following the collapse of the law firm Axiom Ince to learn from the incident.
Efforts to resolve disputes within the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and initiatives to promote judicial diversity are also highlighted in the report. These included supporting the Judicial Diversity Forum and conducting research into the diversity of the judicial talent pipeline.
Looking ahead, LSB Chair Alan Kershaw emphasized the board’s ongoing commitment to using regulation as a tool to elevate service standards and enhance public confidence in legal services. The importance of robust regulation was underscored by high-profile issues such as the Post Office IT Horizon scandal. The LSB plans to continue building on its achievements to help individuals and businesses access high-quality legal services.