C&I: license in-house work

REFORM: Law Society group says non-legal bodies offering legal services must be monitored

Organisations that employ lawyers to offer legal services direct to the public under proposed changes to the practice rules should be licensed by either the Law Society or the government, a leading in-house lawyer said this week.

Ann Page, head of legal services at the Co-operative Bank and the chairwoman of the Society's Commerce & Industry Group, told a gathering of senior in-house counsel: 'Any organisation that wants to provide legal services [should be] licensed, just like banks are for the provision of financial services.'

Her comments came against a backdrop of moves at the Society to reform practice rule 4, which currently prohibits employed lawyers from advising the public directly.

Ms Page encouraged the Society's council to move ahead with reform.

'It is fair to say that our members would like the timetable for launch [of an amended rule] speeded up,' she said.

Ms Page was speaking at the group's annual dinner in London.

Her comments were later supported by deputy vice-chairwoman, Lara Oyesanya, who is divisional counsel at the RAC, a company that has led support for reform.

She said the C&I Group's thinking was at an early stage, but that it had in mind a structure similar to the licensing arrangements operated by the Financial Services Authority.

Ms Oyesanya said either the Society or a government-created body should be put in place 'to make sure that the employers can be measured and kept in check', in relation to the legal services they offer the public.

She acknowledged that the profession was awaiting the outcome of the consultation of the Lord Chancellor's Department on the future regulation of lawyers, including rule 4, and encouraged the Society to be ready to press ministers once the results of that consultation are known.

Meanwhile, the group has announced a series of internal reforms, including: opening up membership to anyone working in a legal capacity within commerce and industry, not just in-house solicitors; naming City firm DLA as the first national sponsor of the group; the launch of a corporate governance committee; and plans to make the group subscription based from 2004.

Currently, all in-house solicitors are automatically members.

Jonathan Ames