On being ambitious in regulatory change

On being ambitious in regulatory change

‘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…

Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill is Introduced

Regulation of Legal Services (Scotland) Bill is Introduced

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…

Protection of ‘Lawyer’ and other Regulatory Reform Bits and Bobs

Protection of ‘Lawyer’ and other Regulatory Reform Bits and Bobs

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…

Legal Complaints Reform in Scotland
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Legal Complaints Reform in Scotland

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…

ABS in Scotland to get Equality with England & Wales
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ABS in Scotland to get Equality with England & Wales

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…

Legal Services Regulation Reform Elephant left in the Room

Legal Services Regulation Reform Elephant left in the Room

The Legal Services Regulation Reform Elephant was left in the room when the Scottish Government published, on 22 December 2022, their response to the findings of the legal services regulation reform in Scotland consultation analysis report [PDF]. Whilst the Scottish Government made much in their press release of the fact that the term “lawyer” is…

Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill to be introduced in 2022 / 2023

Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill to be introduced in 2022 / 2023

The Scottish Government will introduce a Legal Services Regulation Reform Bill in the 2022 to 2023 parliamentary year. The Programme for Government 2022 to 2023 was announced by the First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, on 6 September 2022. This includes 18 new bills. The Summary of Bills contained in The Programme [PDF] states that the Legal Services…

Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 5: Complaints and Redress
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Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 5: Complaints and Redress

This post, on complaints and redress, is the fifth in a series of five blog posts, each one looking at different aspects of the Consultation Analysis on Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland. That consultation comes on the back of the ‘Roberton Review‘, which was an independent Review commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2017…

Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 4: Business Structures
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Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 4: Business Structures

This post, on business structures, is the fourth in a series of five blog posts, each one looking at different aspects of the Consultation Analysis on Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland. That consultation comes on the back of the ‘Roberton Review‘, which was an independent Review commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2017 and…

Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 3: Legal Tech
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Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 3: Legal Tech

This post, on legal tech, is the third in a series of five blog posts, each one looking at different aspects of the Consultation Analysis on Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland. That consultation comes on the back of the ‘Roberton Review‘, which was an independent Review commissioned by the Scottish Government in 2017 and…

Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 1: Overview
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Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland: Consultation Analysis Reviewed – Part 1: Overview

Yesterday the Scottish Government published its Consultation Analysis [PDF] on Legal Services Regulation Reform in Scotland. It extends to 138 pages covering many aspects of possible regulatory reform of legal services in Scotland. It has been a long time in coming. Legal Services (Scotland) Act 2010 England & Wales have had fundamental regulatory reform since…