September 2016
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
Format: DOWNLOADABLE PDF
Bringing together key policymakers and stakeholders, this seminar focused on the future development of legal services regulation in England and Wales.
It was scheduled to follow Government’s recently announced consultation on options for removing barriers to entry for alternative business structures (ABS) and for making legal service regulators independent from their representative bodies. It also provided an early opportunity to discuss priorities for Government’s wider review of the Legal Services Act 2007, expected to take place later in this Parliament.
A further context for the discussion was the Competition and Markets Authority’s current market study on the supply of legal services - which published interim findings, indicating that competition could be improved by increasing price and service transparency.
Delegates had the opportunity to consider policy options for boosting competition and innovation across key legal markets (including conveyancing, probate and litigation); next steps for developing the uptake of ABS and Multi-Disciplinary Practice business models; as well as possible opportunities for streamlining regulatory costs for practitioners, whilst also ensuring standards and affordability for consumers.
This seminar brought together key policymakers and regulators with professional bodies and practitioners from across the legal services market, alongside industry commentators, academics, advisors, consultancies and consumer groups.
