Financial services lawyers 'want non-legal partners'

SIFA: 52% of delegates say ban on MDPs is 'most irksome' rule

Financial services lawyers have added their voices to the call for multi-disciplinary practice by emphasising their desire to go into partnership with independent financial advisers (IFAs).

A poll taken at last week's Solicitors for Independent Financial Advice annual conference near Oxford found that 52% of delegates identified the ban on such partnerships as the 'most irksome' Law Society restriction they faced.

Next came the prohibitions against paying for referrals (28%), against sharing premises with IFAs (11%), and joining IFA networks (10%), and the requirement to account to clients for commission (9%).

Law Society Deputy Vice-President Ed Nally told the conference: 'The Law Society is currently looking at some form of linked partnership consisting of two separate entities, governed by the [dominant] party's regulatory body, that can share fees.

'It is not in the public interest to continue the confusion and my instinct is that transparent financial arrangements between parties will be allowed at some point.'

Mr Nally also expressed concern at the risk of financial advice 'slipping away as a core business of law firms' in the wake of Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation.

Another poll of delegates saw an overwhelming 91% identify 'the volume and complexity of regulation' as the most difficult aspect of the FSA regime.

'The bread and butter legal work of giving financial advice is under threat,' Mr Nally said.

'FSA regulation should have been seen as a new market for law firms, but they have felt the need to hive off their financial services department as it's not considered a natural direction for solicitors to go - and that concerns me.'

Andrew Towler