Law Society Lacking Factors - Essay Example

'Bearing in mind the current proposals for changing the regulation of legal services, what should be the role of the Law Society' Introduction The Law Society, with its significant public responsibilities serves as the representative as well as regulatory authority for the legal professionals in England and Wales. (How the Law Society Works, 2004) However, there were some regulatory discrepancies which were pointed out with suggested recommendations by Sir David Clementi in his consultation paper. Here, in this study the roles of the Law Society, based on the proposals of regulatory change in legal services are dealt with. The paper starts with an overview of the Law Society, and discusses its current lacking factors. It then goes to the proposed changes and the response of the Law Society accepting its new role. Then the new role which the Law Society has to play is discussed with the initiatives of government. The study concludes stating the roles taken by the Society in implementing the regulatory changes. The Law Society - An Over View The Society was first founded on June 2nd 1825. The Society acquired it's royal charter in 1831, and commenced its operations from a new building in Chancery Lane, in 1832. "A new Charter in 1845 set the Law Society as an independent, private body servicing the affairs of the legal profession like other professional, literary and scientific bodies". (Formation of the Law Society, 2004: para 2) The former title of the society was 'The Society of Attorneys, Solicitors, Proctors and others not being Barristers, practicing in the Courts of Law and Equity of the United Kingdom' which later became colloquially renowned as "The Law Society". It changed its name officially in 1903. (Formation of the Law Society, 2004: para 4) Current Regulatory discrepancies of the Law Society The current legal regulatory system is biased with no clear objectives or principles and functions with minimal interests towards the consumers. There exists a confusion regarding the current system supervising bodies' viz., Law Society and Bar Council. (Reform of legal services, 2006) The areas of regulations for legal services suffer from various regulatory gaps, functional overlaps and irregularities. For instance, in cases of service providers like solicitors who provide legal advice as well as non-incidental financial advice, they are regulated simultaneously by the Law Society and the Financial Services Authority. (Regulatory Gaps, 2004) A consultation paper published in May 2003 depicts Government's conclusions on the issues analyzed on matters as raised in the document "In the public interest". (Government Conclusions, 2003) The Department for Constitutional Affairs in its report published in July 2003, arrived at a conclusion that the framework of regulations regarding legal services in England and Wales was highly inefficient and outdated in handling current legal requirements of the consumers. (Legal Services Review, 2004, Para 1) Consequently, Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer ordered a review into regulation of the legal services. The Chancellor described the current frame work of the Law Society as "outdated, inflexible, over-complex and insufficiently accountable or transparent". (Lawyer regulation 'needs change', 2004: para 11) On this behalf, an inquiry, headed by former deputy governor of the Bank of England, Sir David Clementi, came forward with his suggested recommendations including the establishment of a new regulatory society, the Legal Services Board. (Lawyer regulation 'needs change', 2004) Proposed changes in the regulation of legal services Sir David Clementi, in December 2004, published a report suggesting important changes on the regulation of legal services which also won the support from the Government. Clementi, through his report suggested many reforms for the efficiency of legal service including the removal of disparity of business structures, the references, how the new structure would benefit the legal service, the clear distinction that has to be made between the Legal Disciplinary Practices (LDPs) and Multi-Disciplinary Practices (MDPs). He also proposed a matrix termed "Alternative Business Structuers". (Consultation Paper, 2004) As per his suggestions, the consumer should be kept on the main focus and they should be benefited from the legal services. Even other independent inquiries have proved that legal profession should not take up another role to investigate the complaints lodged against the lawyers. The report given by Clementi too upholds a need for an independent body to handle complaints with the supervision of a new regulator to monitor the Law Society and the Bar Council. (Lawyer regulation 'needs change', 2004) Response of the Law Society framing its new role The Law Society responding positively with the recommendations put forward by consultation paper agrees its duty to adhere to the interests of the customer, maintain its independence, confidentiality and integrity and also to stick on to the professional ethics needed for the efficient functioning of the legal services industry. It accepts its need to become an effective system for addressing consumer complaints which is essential to maintain public confidence and to keep the standards of the legal profession. Also the Law society agrees to operate at a proportionate cost, as it may affect the fee for the legal services too. (Independence and Quality, 2004) New Role of the Law Society The BBC news release states, The Law Society as the regulatory and representative body for legal professionals. (The Law Essential Guides, 2003) As per the recommendation put forward by Sir David, the Law Society could have a significant role to play in the progress and regulation of a broader range of legal services and business concepts. Partnerships between legal professionals, partnerships between legal and non-legal professionals and external ownership etc., are some of the futuristic policies the Law Society have already adopted to increase public utility and enhance additional career avenues for the profession. Legal Disciplinary Practice (LDP's) have the power to give added choice to consumers which will prove good to the legal professionals due to the emerging large latent market for legal services. The regulation of LDP must be ensured to equal standards as other law firms and achieve transparency and uniformity for consumer redress. Strict rules need to be formulated to make sure that persons who own legal businesses are qualified and competent persons. The Law Society also agrees to the fact that LDP should contain a majority of lawyers. Above all, there needs to be transparent and distinguish between the areas where the owners of an LDP can and cannot exert influence. For instance, external owners should not be allowed to access the confidential material relating to the clients of the law firm, nor should they be allowed to impose their personal commercial interests in contrary with the interests of the clients of an LDP. However, there are challenges to overcome, and to reach up to the recommendations suggested by Sir David. As per his suggestion the crucial subject of consumer complaints ought to be handled in an anticipated way, with a proposal to even establish an independent Office for Legal Complaints. The Law Society have already identified that there existed a perception problem among the public in the matter of complaints about legal professionals being handled by a society formed by legal professionals themselves. This generally lacked public confidence. The Law Society in its new role would separate the handling of the society's redress and disciplinary function. The Law Society set up its Consumer Complaints Service (CCS) in April 2004 which mainly focuses on satisfying the interest of the consumers and providing appropriate relief to their complaints against the legal professionals. The service is expected to improve drastically with the functioning of the Consumer Complaints Board which looks upon handling complaints only. Meanwhile, the Law Society has also urged the government for to address the gaps in the regulation that currently bias the legal services market, with unqualified advisers, like claims managers and will writers, and to bring them under effective regulation. By all means, the Law Society will go ahead in its drive to ensure a regulated, effective and efficient legal service and strive continuously with the review of its governance. (News from the Law Society, 2005) Initiatives of the Government The government has initiated to set up an independent service for complaints against lawyers. An Office of Legal Complaints (OLC) is one among the various reforms to improve the legal service sector in England and Wales. There will be a Legal Services Board (LSB) to regulate the professional entities such the Law Society and the Bar Council. There will be provisions enabling other professionals to set up joint business with legal professionals and promote combined firms. The government also declared an overall modernization of legal services, making the Law Society to respond to the demands of the legal market and protecting the interests of the consumers. (Big shake-up for legal profession, 2005) Conclusion The paper takes into account the role of the Law Society to enable and enforce the changes proposed and accepted towards the betterment on the regulations of the Law Society. The study takes into account the features of Law Society, its lacking factors, the proposal made by Clementi in his consultation paper and the response accepting the new role by the Law Society. The actual role of the society proposed is elaborated and the initiatives taken by the government towards the regulation is also mentioned. In short the Society concludes by stating that the current system for regulation focused on the professionals who provide legal services but as per its new role it will focus and conduct its operations based on the customer. (A better deal for customers, 2004) References 1. A better deal for consumers (2004). A better deal for consumers is the verdict from the Law Society on Sir David Clementi's report, Press Release Wednesday 15 December 2004. Retrieved 12, April 2006, from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/view=newsarticle.lawNEWSID=211786 2. Big shake-up for legal profession (2005), BBC News Online: 17 October 2005, Retrieved 17 April 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4350240.stm 3. Consultation Paper (2004). Alternative Business Structures, Consultation Paper on the Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales, March 2004, Retrieved 12, April 2006, from http://www.legal-services-review.org.uk/content/consult/review.htm#part8 4. Formation of the Law Society (2004), About the Law Society, Retrieved 17 April 2006, from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/aboutlawsociety/whoweare/abouthistory.law 5. Government Conclusions (July 2003). Competition and regulation in the legal services market. Department for constitutional affairs, Justice, Rights and Democracy. Based on a report following the consultation "In the public interest" Retrieved 09, April 2006 from http://www.dca.gov.uk/consult/general/oftreptconc.htm#part3 6. How the Law Society Works. (2004). The Law Society - Governance Overview, Retrieved 09, April 2006 , from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/aboutlawsociety/how/governance.law 7. Independence and Quality (2004). The Law Society's response to the consultation paper on the review of the regulation of legal services in England and Wales, June 2004, Retrieved 12, April 2006, from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/secure/file/145431/d:/teamsite-deployed/documents//templatedata/Internet%20Documents/Non-government%20proposals/Documents/independenceandqualityfinal.pdf 8. Lawyer regulation 'needs change' (2004), BBC News Online 15 December, 2004, Retrieved 17 April 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4099245.stm 9. Legal Services Review, (2004), Para 1. Consultation Paper on the Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales, March 2004, Regulatory Gaps, Retrieved 09, April 2006, from http://www.legal-services-review.org.uk/content/consult/review.htm#part7 10. News from the Law Society (2005), News from the Law Society - 31 May 2005, Original Article: Issue 3 of Litigation Focus, the magazine of the Law Society's Civil Litigation Section, Retrieved 17 April 2006 from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/news/view=newsarticle.lawNEWSID=244663 11. Reform of legal services (2006). The Law Society, Hot Topics, 23 January 2006, Retrieved 12, April 2006, from http://www.lawsociety.org.uk/newsandevents/news/majorcampaigns/view=newsarticle.lawCAMPAIGNSID=169105 12. Regulatory Gaps (2004). Consultation Paper on the Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales, March 2004, Retrieved 08, April 2006, from http://www.legal-services-review.org.uk/content/consult/review.htm#part7 13. The Law Essential Guides (2003). Crime - The Law Essential Guides, 12 February 2003, Retrieved 17, April 2006, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/crime/law/dvandlaw.shtml Read More