The legal profession continues to face major challenges.
The process started in recent years with David Clementi's 2004 review which lead to the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA). The Act has allowed Alternative Business Structures (ABSs) since 6 October 2011, which enables those who are not lawyers to own law firms for the first time. The first ABSs were licensed by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC), with the first SRA licensed ABSs following 5 months later. There are now around 800 ABSs in England & Wales.
The Act was responsible for the arrival of new regulators such as the Legal Services Board, the Bar Standards Board and the Intellectual Property Regulatory Board. The CLC is seeking to become a regulator of new practice areas such as litigation.
Tim Prior, director, was closely involved with many of these developments.
Risk management is key for:
- barristers offering direct access.
- licensed conveyancers looking to undertake new practice areas.
- chartered legal executives looking to become managers in law firms.
- Intellectual Property lawyers and law costs draftsmen looking to capitalise on opportunities presented by the LSA.