The New Zealand Law Society, in its response to the Independent Review on Regulating Lawyers in Aotearoa New Zealand (the Paterson Review [PDF]), has accepted in principle the proposal to establish a new independent regulator. The Review said that the New Zealand Law Society’s current structure (operating as both a regulator and membership body) was…
Professor Stephen Mayson has published his response to the call for views on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill on both the UCL website and on his own website. You can download the full response as a PDF: Response by Professor Stephen Mayson on call for evidence on Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill….
The Law Society of Scotland made an announcement on 10 August that would suggest the ABS Nessie may be in sight at long last! Later this year (2023) no less. ABSs in Scotland – rarer than Nessie Seven years ago, in 2016, the Law Society Gazette (i.e. the Gazette of the Law Society of England…
Professor David Flint submitted, yesterday, his response to the call for evidence on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill. Professor Flint supports the principal recommendation of the Roberton Review that an independent regulator should be created to regulate legal professionals. In his response Professor Flint suggests that the present system, and what is proposed…
On 31 July, The Herald published a letter by Michael Sheridan, Solicitor, Glasgow claiming that Law Firms are “public assets” that should not be allowed to be sold to shareholder companies. Mr Sheridan was alerting the public to, in his view, the “proposed sale of public assets for private gain” that could happen if section…
I have submitted my response to the call for evidence on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill by the Equalities, Human Rights & Civil Justice Committee of the Scottish Parliament. My response is a follows:- 1. What are your views on: a. the principal recommendation of the Roberton Review that an independent regulator should…
Views on the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill must be with the Scottish Parliament by 9 August 2023. So, this is just a nudge, if you haven’t done so already, to submit your views by that date. It is most important that anyone with an interest in the future of regulation of legal services…
‘On being ambitious in regulatory change’ was a talk that I was asked to do for the online conference on ‘The Scottish Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill: what’s needed and what’s next?’ (Organised by Mackay Hannah) on 27 April 2023. I am reproducing that talk here with one added point, in square brackets, noted by…
On 20 April 2023 the Scottish Government introduced the Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill to the Scottish Parliament. This Bill was expected in this Parliamentary Term as part of the Programme for Government 2022 to 2023 announced by the then First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on 6 September 2022. In their press release today the…
Plans to protect the use of the professional term ‘lawyer’ have been unveiled as part of proposals to reform the regulation of Scotland’s legal services sector. That was the opening line in the Scottish Government’s press release of 22 December 2022 on the publication of their response to the findings of the legal services regulation…
There is to be reform of the legal complaints system in Scotland. This was announced on 22 December 2022 as part of the Scottish Government’s response to the findings of the legal services regulation reform in Scotland consultation analysis report [PDF]. A previous blog post looked at the findings of the Consultation Analysis with regard to…
Alternative Business Structures (ABS) in Scotland are to get equality with those in England & Wales. This was announced on 22 December 2022 as part of the Scottish Government’s response to the findings of the legal services regulation reform in Scotland consultation analysis report [PDF]. It was also announced before the first ABS has even…
