The UK's three largest legal regulators have set up an advisory group led by Lord Justice Thomas to support the upcoming launch of an ambitious new kitemark for advocates.

The independent advisory group has been set up by the Joint Advocacy Group (JAG) – the body set up by the Bar Standards Board (BSB), the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and ILEX Professional Standards (IPS) to implement the scheme.

The group will be chaired by Thomas and will consist of a solicitor-advocate, barrister, circuit judge, three lay members and a representative from each of the BSB, SRA and IPS and the Crown Prosecution Service.

The advisory group will assist JAG with the initial development of and monitoring of the scheme, called Quality Assurance for Advocates (QAA). It will also audit and review QAA, reporting annually to the regulators on the scheme's effectiveness.

The scheme, which has caused some controversy within the profession, is set to be rolled out over the summer for criminal advocates.

It is touted as a means to introduce a benchmark for all advocates by placing them into one of four grades depending on the complexity of case they are able to take on. If successful, it is likely to be extended into family work as well.

Thomas commented: "This step, taken by the regulators, should ensure engagement with interested parties and allow external scrutiny of the process. I look forward to working with all those involved to assist with the development of a robust and proportionate quality assurance scheme for advocates."

A spokesperson for JAG said: "The establishment of the advisory group represents a significant move towards the effective delivery of a QAA scheme by July 2011.

"There are a number of important issues that need to be addressed by JAG before July and the expert input of the advisory group will be invaluable. Their role in providing external scrutiny of the operational scheme will also be critical to ensuring that our processes have credibility and rigour."