Law Society sets out its vision for the future of regulation
The Law Society has set out its vision for the regulation of the profession in response to the Ministry of Justice's call for evidence.
We recognise that the burden of regulation is too high and we want to see it reduced. The Law Society believes that there should be greater professional involvement in regulation, with the professional bodies setting standards and authorising those wishing to practise.
Professional involvement will mean that the realities of different types of practice are understood by the regulator and that regulation can be more targeted and proportionate cost efficient. We recognise the need for continued oversight but would expect the Legal Services Board to have a much more focused role.
We would reject the call, put forward by other commentators, that a single independent regulator should be created.
The cost of setting up such a body is likely to be high, the inevitable further changes in regulation (after a period of enormous change) would create an additional burden on firms and there is no evidence that such a regulator would bring any cost benefit.
While we recognise that the current regulator structure is complex, we do not believe that many consumers are aware of such complexities or that it influences their decisions. The creation of the Legal Ombudsman has allowed a single point of contact for clients of regulated legal services providers thus simplifying the process for clients to complain.
We recognise that more could be done to streamline processes for clients but we believe that this can be done without the need for the creation of a new regulator.
