The Law Society has responded to the Legal Services Board's consultation on approaches to quality. In our response we iterate our belief that the market, voluntary schemes and the work of professional bodies can all have a strong influence on quality in legal services. We think that regulatory action should be used as a tool of last resort and used only when there is proper evidence for doing so.
We believe that clients are entitled to receive a standard of service from solicitors which provides competent and ethical advice that meets their needs. That advice and service should be delivered promptly and courteously and with clarity about fees. The SRA Handbook enshrines these objectives and it is the job of the regulator to ensure this is achieved.
However, there are more intangible and subjective aspects to quality: for example, consumers may choose different levels of expertise according to their perceptions of the likely quality and their likely ability to afford it. The same is true for perceived levels of service. We do not believe those choices should be fettered and we believe that the market should be able to deliver different ways of providing services provided they meet the basic quality of service appropriate to that client.
Read our consultation response