UK lawyers warn deregulation will hit consumer protection
Law Society says proposals to give solicitors greater freedom will erode trust
The Law Society, which represents solicitors in England and Wales, has made a last-ditch attempt to stop a sweeping deregulation of the legal profession, saying that standards and protections will suffer.
Proposals set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority would give solicitors greater freedom to operate as freelancers, rather than having to work in a fully regulated firm or as registered sole practitioners.
Solicitors would be allowed to set up in other businesses — such as estate agents, architecture practices or travel agencies — and offer a limited number of services, known as “unreserved activities”. These include general legal advice, most aspects of employment law and writing wills.
They would also be permitted to establish barrister-style “chambers” — sharing premises and office costs but working as self-employed freelancers.
In some circumstances they could also offer more specialist “reserved activities” including conducting litigation, appearing in court and acting as a notary. They would not be permitted to handle client money, however.
The reforms were prompted in part by a critical report in December 2016 from the Competition and Markets Authority, which said consumers found it hard to understand what legal services were available, how much they cost, and which lawyers offered good quality.
The SRA said only one in 10 people used solicitors for their legal problems, and only one in 10 businesses viewed lawyers as cost effective. “The lack of information about legal services makes it hard for people to make informed decisions and weakens competition within the marketplace,” it said.
The Legal Services Board, which oversees the various regulators of the legal profession, has set a deadline of September 5 to decide on whether to approve the plans, though it has the option of a two-month postponement.
With the decision looming, the Law Society has accused the SRA of understating opposition to its plans and written a 17-page letter to the board.
It said the reforms would remove consumer protections by allowing lawyers to have lower levels of professional indemnity insurance, removing access for consumers to the SRA’s compensation fund, and confusing people with a sudden proliferation of legal services, both regulated and unregulated, on the high street.
In the letter, Christina Blacklaws, president of the Law Society, said: “This is likely to reduce public confidence in the title of ‘solicitor’ which, in turn, could erode consumer trust in the entire legal services market.” The proposals were “prejudicial to the public interest”, she added.