Expect fireworks as major changes to legal services start to take off, says Samantha Barrass
The world of legal services is in the midst of a period of unprecedented change. There are various interlocking themes which together amount to a legal big bang. These are the current introduction of entity based regulation; the introduction on 6 October 2011 of both outcomes focused regulation (and with it a new Code of Conduct) and alternative business structures (ABS) which will enable lawyers and non-lawyers to share the management and control of a business which provides reserved legal services to the public; and the creation of the SRA Corporate Regulation Group to enhance our relationship with the major firms in the corporate sector.
Outcomes focused regulation (OFR) amounts to a shift from prescriptive rigid rules to flexible outcomes focused requirements. The way the legal services market is evolving demands that regulation should focus more on the quality of clients’ experience—and less on prescribing the approach that firms should take. OFR will enable firms to be far more flexible
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