Legal Services Board

The Law Society has called on the Legal Services Board to reject changes to the cab-rank rule in the latest stage of the long-running saga over standard contractual terms between barristers and solicitors. The society said they would have an “anti-competitive effect.

The Bar Standards Board is to push back against a Legal Services Board demand that it implement a regulatory regime for immigration specialist barristers by the end of 2012, saying the LSB has failed to produce evidence it is necessary.

The Legal Services Board is likely to survive the government’s triennial review of its functions largely unscathed, despite a series of attacks from those it oversees, it has emerged.

It is “demeaning” to suggest that non-lawyers becoming involved in alternative business structures are less likely to be ethical, the chairman of the Legal Services Board claimed last night. David Edmonds also pointed to a string of scandals involving lawyers.

The Legal Services Board has called on the government to support a bid by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for a massive increase in the amount it can fine law firms. The SRA wants to increase its power to fine law firms from £2,000 to £250m, and to £50m for individuals.

The Legal Services Board has rejected criticism from the Bar Council over its use of leading City law firm Hogan Lovells during the investigation into changes to the cab-rank rule.

It is far too early to talk about winding down the Legal Services Board, its chairman has argued, while also criticising the Law Society and Bar Council for their failure to embrace independent regulation quickly enough.

Four bodies have already put themselves forward to regulate will-writers following the Legal Services Board’s proposal that will-writing become a reserved legal activity, with all making their intentions clear at this week’s Legal Futures conference.

Will-writing and estate administration should become reserved legal activities, the Legal Services Board has recommended. The long-awaited conclusions of its statutory investigation also highlighted the need to improve standards among regulated providers like solicitors.

The Legal Services Board is to examine whether ‘general legal advice’ given to consumers should be regulated, it announced today, but has rejected the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s call for all solicitor-type services to be reserved.