Legal Services Board

Legal regulators have called on the government to make a series of changes to the Legal Services Act that will make it easier to approve and regulate alternative business structures. The move is part of the first output from joint work being done by all of the legal regulators to identify opportunities for deregulation.

Legal Services Board chief executive Richard Moriarty is to leave the post next February after just a year in the role, it was announced today. Mr Moriarty is returning to the Civil Aviation Authority as its deputy chief executive and group director for consumers and markets.

Banks may charge law firms more for borrowing if they abandon their client accounts, the legal regulators have warned. A report submitted to justice minister Shailesh Vara highlighted both the dangers and benefits of allowing choice on whether to handle client money directly.

The new government is not keen to extend regulation of legal services, including will-writing, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board (LSB) has warned. Richard Moriarty said innovation was key to tackling the “trilemma” facing legal services.

The goal of promoting innovation and diversity in the provision of legal services through the introduction of alternative business structures “has been realised”, joint research by the Legal Services Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority has concluded. Across the market, innovation is used to extend service range, improve service quality, and attract new clients – but is “not typically used” to lower costs.

The Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) is finally set to go ahead after the Supreme Court ruled that it was “the only way” to protect all members of the public involved in criminal proceedings “at an upper level”. But it has been claimed that the decision will make it harder for similar schemes to be introduced for other areas of law.

The Legal Services Board has invoked its statutory power to set performance targets for the Office for Legal Complaints – the body that oversees the Legal Ombudsman – because of concerns that current targets are at risk of not being met and there are “inherent structural features [that] are likely to prevent significant improvements in performance being made”.

Legal regulators need to justify the continuing existence of their rules, and not wait for others to argue that they are not needed, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board has said. Richard Moriarty also urged the legal profession to “redouble” its efforts to innovate.

The prospect of a single regulator for the legal market has dimmed after the new chief executive of the Legal Services Board distanced himself from the idea. Richard Moriarty was giving his first interview since taking over from Chris Kenny in February.

The Legal Services Board has urged the frontline regulators to keep a close eye on ‘price transparency’ among lawyers in the wake of a Legal Ombudsman report that said a quarter of complaints it received were triggered by a lack of clarity over fees.