Amendments to the Solicitors' Overseas Practice Rules 1990 came into force on 17 March 2004.

The amendments result from the Law Society's consultation on changes to rules affecting international practice.

Broadly, the amendments allow overseas multi-disciplinary partnerships subject to safeguards, and within defined limits, exempt certain solicitors from the overseas accounts provisions.

A solicitor may now join, and be employed by, a partnership with non-lawyer partners and a corporate law firm with non-lawyer directors and owners, provided that:

- The firm has no office in England and Wales;

- A controlling majority of the partners (or directors and owners) are lawyers;

- The lawyer partners, directors or owners are not put in breach of any applicable local rules, and;

- If the partnership has an office in an Establishment Directive state, local rules would permit local lawyers to be involved in such a firm.

However, fee-sharing remains restricted.

A solicitor practising overseas may share fees with a non-lawyer partner.

But that solicitor may not may share fees with any other non-lawyer - even one who could be a partner - except to facilitate the introduction of capital and/or the provision of services to a practice, as permitted under the new fee-sharing rules.

A solicitor who is a minority partner in an overseas law firm will now be exempt from the accounts provisions in the Solicitors' Overseas Practice Rules 1990 in relation to money held or received by virtue of being a partner, provided that:

- A controlling majority of the partners are lawyers of other jurisdictions, and;

- UK lawyers do not form the largest national group of lawyers in the partnership.

A solicitor will still be subject to the accounts provisions if he or she holds or receives money as a named trustee.

The amended rules can be found in The Guide Online at http://guide.lawsociety.org.uk (chapter 9, annex 9A or obtained from the professional ethics department of the Law Society, tel: 0870 606 2577).

Also arising from the consultation, the Law Society Council has made further rule amendments affecting practice in England and Wales.

These have not yet come into force.

A notice will be published when they are in force.