About Which? No advertising, no bias, no hidden agenda

Independence is key to legal regulation, says Which?

26 June 2009

As the Legal Services Board (LSB) consultation on regulatory independence closes, Which? principal public affairs officer, Mark McLaren, says:

“Consumers will not trust a system in which those being regulated can influence the regulator. That’s why Which? wants to see the likes of the Solicitors Regulation Authority Board totally independent of the Law Society.

“Lawyers and their representative bodies should remember that the purpose of the legal services reform agenda was, and should still be, “putting consumers first”. By putting consumers first, we think the long-term interests of the legal profession will also be served.”

Notes to Editor

 

While real independence for legal regulators from their representative masters is a first necessary step, Which? believes other essential steps include:

  • That there is a lay majority on the SRA Board and the boards of the other regulatory arms of the legal approved regulators such as the Bar Standards Board
  • That all approved regulators should consider making the chair of their regulatory arm a lay person as is already a legal requirement for the LSB and which the Bar Standards Board and ILEX have already done voluntarily
  • That the SRA Board from 2010 is appointed on the terms set out by the LSB rather than the current pre-Legal Services Act 2007 arrangements
  • That the legal regulatory bodies work closely with the soon to be established Office of Legal Complaints (OLC) to ensure a seamless service for consumers, in particular that consumers are kept informed about any disciplinary action taken as a result of their complaint.