The government last week rejected a Solicitors Regulation Authority-inspired attempt to require in-house solicitors providing 'any legal services' to hold practising certificates (PCs).


Conservative Shadow Lord Chancellor Lord Kingsland laid an amendment to the Legal Services Bill that 'seeks to put the obligation of in-house solicitors beyond doubt' and ensure all solicitors are treated consistently.



Currently, in-house solicitors who provide reserved legal services or work under a title which implies a professional qualification must have a PC.



Lord Kingsland told peers that currently the obligation to hold a PC 'can turn on decisions made by the employer, such as the job title to be used'. He said: 'It is therefore proposed that the requirement to hold a practising certificate be extended to all solicitors employed in commerce, industry and local government in connection with provision of any legal services.'



Minister Baroness Ashton said she was not persuaded. 'Provided no reserved legal activity is involved, I do not see why we should treat persons who may have once qualified as a lawyer any differently from any other person who may provide general advice to their employer,' she said.



However, the minister accepted that if there was evidence that this is an issue - which Lord Kingsland suggested existed - then 'the Bill makes provision for us to pick this up and deal with it'.



Mike Armstrong, chairman of the Law Society's Commerce & Industry Group, welcomed Baroness Ashton's stance. Arguing that the status quo should remain, he said the amendment would capture a far greater group of in-house lawyers, and have considerable cost implications for them.



Law Society President Fiona Woolf added: 'There is a debate to be had about how the overall cost of regulation is met and the scope or need for differential practising certificate fees across the board. That debate will have to take place in the context of the regulatory objectives that will be enshrined in the Legal Services Bill.' The Solicitors Regulation Authority has differential fees for in-house lawyers on its agenda.



A spokesman for the authority said it is committed to operating in a proportionate manner, 'ensuring as far as possible that solicitors' contributions equate to the cost of regulating them. Particularly until the effects of the Legal Services Act become clear, we need the scope to be flexible'.



Neil Rose