Currently, CLC firms must use TPMAs regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. They must be authorised by the CLC to enter into such arrangements with a client, and must ensure the decision to use the TPMA, and the provider used, is ‘appropriate in the circumstances of each case’.
The CLC’s plans were submitted this week to the Legal Services Board for approval. The plans state: ‘Less prescriptive rules can lead to lower costs and higher efficiency savings… [and] mean that practices will need to properly assess the needs of their clients and how they ensure compliance rather than relying on detailed rules which may become a tick-box exercise.’
Simon Blandy, CLC director of regulatory standards, said the revised code would ‘have a positive impact on the protection and promotion of the public interest’.
If approved, the new code will come into force on 30 September 2020.
