The Law Society of Scotland welcomes the cross party support for the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill
The Law Society of Scotland welcomes the cross party support for the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill, and is pleased to see the committee has taken a lot of evidence and given the bill close examination.
Ian Smart, president of the Law Society of Scotland said: "The Society has been lobbying for a greater role for the Lord President to ensure that the legal profession retains its independence and I am pleased that the Justice Committee has recognised this and has recommended that this role is enhanced within the terms of the Legal Services (Scotland) Bill. There are also recommendations for amendments at stage 2 regarding a compensation fund and fidelity insurance which the Society has also been pressing for to ensure that consumer protections offered by ABSs would be equivalent to those currently provided by solicitors' firms.
"Throughout the ABS debate the Society has maintained that independence of the profession is essential. It has also stated that professional principles and standards cannot be compromised and that ABSs should not create any adverse impact on access to legal services in Scotland.
" The Society has taken forward the debate in favour of allowing ABSs, following its members vote at a 2008 AGM, as it could help to broaden access to legal services and also allow those firms which want to operate using a different business structure to be able to do so. The legal services market is becoming increasingly competitive throughout the UK and globally and we want to ensure that Scottish lawyers can compete effectively in that market by being able to bring in new talent and appoint non-solicitor partners or look to bring in external capital for their business to grow and thrive should they wish.
" Regulation is absolutely key to how these new business entities might operate and the Society is consulting all 10,500 members to be able to give their input into what types of business models could be permitted and also how they should be regulated if the Society becomes an approved regulator of ABSs.
" We believe it is vital that the profession has an opportunity to contribute their views on how any new entities that may be permitted by the bill are regulated - and if in fact all ABS models should be permitted. External ownership in particular has caused concerns and any 'fitness to own' test would have to be sufficiently robust to ensure that there would be no reduction in standards of the legal advice and services offered and that there was no interference in how those services were provided.
" The consultation closes on April 16 and I would urge our members to let us know their views. "
12 March 2010
