The Law Society is concerned that legislation that the government plans to introduce shortly will damage the independence of the legal profession from government by introducing a government-appointed super-regulator with excessive powers to intervene.

The Law Society has indicated its support in principle for:

• The creation of a light-touch over-arching regulator, the Legal Services Board.
• The creation of a wholly independent body, the Office for Legal Complaints, to deal with all consumer complaints against lawyers.
• Powers to enable new vehicles through which legal services can be provided to the public.

But there is a risk that the new Legal Services Board will not be fully independent from government. The public rely on the independence of the legal profession to ensure they can obtain advice and representation which is solely focused on their best interests. The Law Society has established arrangements for regulation which are independent of the Law Society’s representative role. But it is essential that the regulator is equally independent of government.

Fiona Woolf, Law Society president, says: ”The value of the legal profession in England and Wales and its success overseas rests upon effective regulation, and demonstrable independence from government. It is imperative that the new arrangements do not undermine that.”

Fiona Woolf also says: ”We support Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) in principle, provided that they are regulated in the same way as other law firms, so that the protection for consumers is not weakened. But the bill needs to ensure proper control over who can own a law firm and the government must ensure that the impact on access to justice is considered before ABSs are introduced.”

The Law Society also calls for the government to contribute towards the cost of the new supervisory arrangements. Fiona Woolf says: ”The government will make substantial savings from the abolition of the Legal Services Ombudsman and the Legal Services Complaints Commissioner. In other sectors, the government contributes towards the cost of the supervising regulator. We believe the same should apply in legal services.”

For more information, journalists should call the Law Society Press Office on 020 7320 5811.