Regulators are to park the issue of amending the list of reserved legal activities after concluding there was not a case to consider reform at this stage.

The Legal Services Board meets today and is set to vote in favour of agreeing to take no further action in relation to the scope of work that can be carried out by regulated professionals. The Legal Services Act 2007 restricts the exercise of right of audience, the conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate activities, notarial activities and the administration of oaths. 

The LSB revealed last October that it would examine the rationale behind the list of reserved activities, after publishing research showing the system causes some detriment to consumers. This analysis has been completed, a paper before the LSB board reveals, with the LSB concluding there is no current basis for reform.

On rights of audience and conduct of litigation, the oversight regulator states that there had been no ‘significant shift’ that would create a serious demand for change.

The LSB identified concerns around the unregulated practice of selling pre-paid probate plans, but said this matter will be pursued with individual regulators rather than become a catalyst for wider change.

Overall, the LSB concluded: ‘We do not consider that our analysis identifies a strong case for immediate work to conduct a large-scale review of the RLAs without a more fundamental review of the legislative framework.’

Further engagement work will continue to prepare for any future review, and in the meantime the LSB will seek to make sure regulatory bodies oversee reserved instrument activities properly and that probate activities are sufficiently clear and effective.

Law Society president Lubna Shuja said: 'The Law Society agrees this is not the right time to review reserved legal activities (RLAs). Currently, RLAs can only be carried out by qualified legal professionals regulated by one of the approved regulators under the Legal Services Act 2007.

'This important consumer protection ensures that unsuspecting members of the public are not sold vital legal services such as conveyancing, litigation or probate by unregulated providers. Unregulated providers could deliver sub-standard services with no easy recourse for consumers. This would undermine the function and reputation of our justice system.'

 

This article is now closed for comment.