The legal profession in Scotland has edged closer to the liberalisation pioneered in England with lawyers and non-lawyers soon to be allowed to jointly own businesses and seek external capital.
The Scottish Government announced today that the Law Society of Scotland has been authorised as a regulator of Licensed Legal Services Providers in Scotland.
Legislation was passed through the Legal Services (Scotland) Act in 2010 which allowed for solicitors to set up businesses with non-solicitors. That process is now set to accelerate with the Law Society’s authorisation. However liberalisation of ownership falls well short of the decade-old reforms in England and Wales.
In Scotland, the new type of businesses would be required to be majority owned (at least 51%) by ‘regulated professionals’, and could see Scottish solicitors set up in partnership with other specialists such as surveyors, accountants or architects. The changes also allow Scottish firms to seek external capital for the first time. All licensed providers will require at least one solicitor to be employed in the business, with a solicitor acting as head of legal services.
Ken Dalling, president of the Law Society of Scotland said: ‘Today’s announcement marks a significant step towards opening up the legal services market in Scotland to permit these new types of businesses.
‘It has taken significant effort to get to this stage and we are working on the policies and processes needed to support the new regulatory framework. It will ensure licensed providers operate to high professional standards and that there are robust consumer protections in place, as there are for clients of solicitor firms.’
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