Solicitors could face competence checks as the Law Society Regulation Board seeks to crack down on poor practice.



Antony Townsend, the Law Society's first chief executive for regulation, told the Gazette that 'the focus on continuing professional competence is something all regulators ought to be involved in'.



The development follows government plans for five-yearly MOT-style checks for doctors, based on appraisals.



Mr Townsend said the traditional assumption that once a member was admitted to a profession, that person would remain competent, and that the regulator's role was to weed out 'rogues and villains' was changing. 'Increasingly, the focus of consumer concern has been about continuing competence, not just character.'



While continuing professional development (CPD) and accreditation schemes recognise the trend, Mr Townsend said that 'simply undertaking CPD is not the same as assuring competence'.



He added: 'No decisions have yet been made on this, but the better monitoring of risk data to spot emerging problems, the provision of advice and guidance to solicitors, and tools such as peer review may be some of the means to identify and remedy poor performance.'



A spokeswoman for the representative side of the Law Society said: 'We agree it is desirable to remedy poor practice early, preferably without the need for sanctions. We look forward to working with them to develop proportionate mechanisms.'



Neil Rose