Ministry of Justice calls on profession for evidence as it launches review of regulatory landscape

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced a new push to simplify the regulation of the legal services market and cut back "unnecessary burdens" it believes are holding back the sector.

Justice minister Helen Grant, who introduced the review last week, said it had been prompted by concerns raised with ministers over "the complexities of the current legal services regulatory landscape". 

At least 10 pieces of primary legislation and more than 30 statutory instruments covering the full breadth of the legislative framework will be reviewed, the MoJ said.

"The purpose of this review is to consider what could be done to simplify the regulatory framework and reduce unnecessary burdens on the legal sector while retaining appropriate regulatory oversight," said Grant.

"At this initial stage, we are interested in hearing about concerns with, and ideas for reducing, regulatory burdens and simplifying the legal services regulatory framework.

"We are interested in ideas covering the overall legislative framework, and any specific provisions or aspects within it. The evidence provided will be analysed to identify potential ways in which the framework might be simplified while retaining appropriate regulatory oversight."

The MoJ has now put out a call for evidence from across the profession, including the representative and regulatory arms of each of the approved regulators and licensing authorities.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) – the independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of legal services in England and Wales – said it plans to make "a substantive contribution to the call for evidence".

Other groups the MoJ has requested views from include the Legal Services Consumer Panel (LSCP) – an independent advisory board to the LSB – as well as consumer bodies, legal academics, the judiciary and individual legal providers, with the deadline for evidence to be submitted set at 2 September this year.

"Getting regulation right is vital to consumers, the public and practitioners alike," said LSB corporate director Julie Myers. "We have already announced that in 2013-14 we will be interrogating the regulatory system thoroughly to see where unnecessary cost and complexity and inefficiency exists, and we welcome the chance to share this work with the Government and others."

"We welcome the review and we will be looking at this from a consumer perspective in terms of how consumers can navigate their way through regulated legal services," added LSCP manager Steve Brooker.

"One particular thing we hope the review will do is look at the regulation of reserved legal activities, such as conveyancing and probate work."

The Law Society also welcomed the move, noting that "the profession has had to deal with significant regulatory change over a short period of time", and "there is logic in assessing how that change has panned out and the impact of that change".

"The focus should be on protecting consumers while minimising the bureaucratic burden of regulation on individuals and firms working in the sector," said a Law Society spokesperson. "Client protection and the upholding of standards are cornerstones of the profession, yet law firms must be able to compete both locally and globally."