Are you an ABS optimist or pessimist?
A first blog from associate editor Dan Bindman: I’ve been writing news stories about changes underway in the legal services market on and off for about a year now, and have been struck by the great variety of approaches to the significance of alternative business structures, both among lawyers and legal commentators. ABSs seem to represent a tsunami of change that will either undermine the ‘trusted professional’ status of lawyers, turning them into salesmen, or a long overdue market liberalisation; a boon to consumers bringing a much needed reality-check to a complacent profession – or something in between.
Escaping from the regulatory maze
I suspect there is no coincidence that the Legal Ombudsman’s website is publicising its first annual report under the banner headline “Regulatory maze”. Those of you with long-ish memories may recall that this was the phrase used in 2003 by the then Department for Constitutional Affairs in the scoping study that paved the way for the Clementi reforms. Sir David himself adopted it to describe the confused regulatory infrastructure which his reforms were supposedly going to untangle.
The ABS blame game
There will no doubt be some finger pointing after our revelation today that the Solicitors Regulation Authority will not be in a position to start licensing alternative business structures on 6 October. Those with business plans worked up on the basis of 6 October will be rightly annoyed, and it hardly sends out an impressive signal.
The lessons of will-writer regulation
Yesterday’s report on will-writing by the Legal Services Consumer Panel was more proof, if any were needed, that the Legal Services Act 2007 is anything but a deregulatory measure. Even the deregulation of business structures is hedged by a raft of new regulation. There are several points worth picking out of the report. First, it emphasises once more how critical reserved legal activities are to the future shape of the legal market.
The Battle of LASPO, starring referral fees as the Trojan horse
The Ministry of Justice seems in undue haste to push the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill – snappily nicknamed LASPO – through the House of Commons. Having broken parliamentary convention by not allowing two weekends between presenting the bill to Parliament and the second reading last week, the government wanted it to start the committee stage today. However, after protests from the opposition, this will now begin next Tuesday.
