Legal Services Act 2007 Flashcards
This Act was passed following what report?
the Clementi Report
What did the Legal Services Act 2007 set up? (2)
- the Legal Service Board
- Office for Legal Complaints
What was the role of the Legal Service Board?
to have an independent oversight of all the legal professions
What was the job of the Office for Legal Complaints?
to deal with complaints against any of the legal professions
What does the Legal Service Board consist of?
a Chairman and 7-10 members appointed by the Secretary of State
Who appoints the 7-10 members of the Legal Service Board?
the Secretary of State
Who’s work does the Legal Service Board oversee?
- the Solicitors’ Regulatory Authority who regulates solicitors
- the Bar Standards Board who regulates for barristers
Who must the
Solicitors Regulatory Authority and the Bar Standards Board have to recieve approval from before making major changes to the Codes of Conduct?
the Legal Services Board
What has the Office for Legal Complaints set up?
the Legal Ombudsman
What has the Office for Legal Complaints set up the Legal Ombudsman to do?
to perform the day-to-day handling of complaints
When did the work of the Legal Ombudsman begin?
October 2010
What is the aim of the Office for Legal Complaints?
to simplify the complaints procedure structure for consumers
Before the Legal Services Act 2007 what were the 4 restrictions on the types of business structures in the legal profession?
- barriters and solicitors could not operate from the same business
- lawyers were not allowed to enter into partnerships with non-lawyers
- non-laywers could not be involved in the ownership or management of legal business
- legal practises could not operate as a companies
How did the Legal Services Act 2007 change the restrictions on the types of business structures in the legal profession?
allowed
- legal businesses to include lawyers and non-lawyers
- legal businesses to include barristers and solicitors
- non-lawyers to own legal businesses
- legal businesses to operate as companies
From what year have solicitors been allowed to form Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDP’s)?
2009
In a Legal Disciplinary Practice, what % of patterns can be non-lawyers?
up to 25%
In what year were the working practises for barristers changed so that they can be managers or work in LPD’s?
2010
From what date have Alternative Business Structures been allowed?
Since October 2011
Who can own the Alternative Business Structures?
non-lawyers
What does it mean when non-lawyers can own an Alternative Business Structure?
major companies such as Tesco could own an ABS
What must be considered when such a license to own an Alternative Business Structure is given?
Access to Justice
Why must Access to Justice be considered when a license is applied for to own an Alternative Business Structure?
In order to prevent commercial businesses choosing only the most profitable areas of law and possibly leaving an areas without lawyers to do the less profitable types of law
When were the first 3 licenses to own an Alternative Business Structure, given?
April 2012
Out of the 3 licenses to own an Alternative Business Structure in April 2012, how many were given to ‘high-street’ solicitors who wished to bring a non-lawyer practise manager to their practises?
2
