New measures for regulating lawyers, including a lay majority on each regulatory board, have been branded a “curate’s egg” by the Law Society.
The Legal Services Board (LSB), which oversees the Law Society, Bar Council and six other approved legal professional regulators, announced the measures, published as ‘Internal Governance and Practising Fee Rules’, last week.
They include: a requirement that regulatory boards have a lay majority, while allowing flexibility on whether the chair is held by a lawyer or a lay person; proposals to ensure the provision of resources is “as effective, efficient and fair as possible”; and a timetable, which will see rules made by the board translated into action.
The LSB published its consultation paper on the proposed changes, Regulatory Independence, in March. The proposed rules will come into force on 1 January, 2010.
However, Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, said: “Like the curate's egg some parts seem more appetising than others.
“We are concerned that the LSB has concluded that the regulatory board should have a lay
