The Legal Services Board (LSB) has created its first-ever business plan as it prepares for the Legal Services Act (LSA).

The plan, which has received the backing of the Bar Standards Board (BSB), comes into effect in April and will run until March 2010.

It includes a number of goals for the coming year, including appointing a consumer panel and issuing a discussion paper on the development of Alternative Business Structures, which are set to come into force in 2011.

The LSB, which will act as the overarching regulator for both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the BSB under the Act, also hopes to have established core requirements on handling complaints, arrange events to encourage diversity and receive its first levy payment by the end of March next year.