December 2017
Price: £95 PLUS VAT
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This seminar focused on the priorities for ensuring quality and upholding standards in the legal sector.
It was timed to consider next steps for the implementation of the recommendations within the Competition and Markets Authority’s legal services market study - which found that the market was not working well for consumers, and included provisions to increase competition and transparency for consumers through the greater availability of information on pricing, quality of services, redress, and competitor firms.
The seminar also came amid uncertainty surrounding the future of the proposed Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA), and provided delegates with an opportunity to engage on options for developing future quality assurance schemes across the wider legal services market.
Further sessions focused on the future of continuing competence following changes to the CPD regime in January 2017 - which removed the requirement for a minimum number of hours and allowed professionals more flexibility to decide the type of activities they undertake - as well as the role of complaints and disciplinary mechanisms, such as the Legal Ombudsman and Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, in incentivising high standards in the profession.
This conference brought together members of both Houses of Parliament, senior government officials and regulators involved in this area of public policy, together with law firms, chambers and legal businesses, universities and training providers, as well as commentators, academics and think tanks.
