Gove moves to deregulate legal services market

The Lord Chancellor has revealed that Ministry of Justice officials have met frontline legal services regulators to discuss the future of the profession.

In June, Michael Gove said the Legal Services Act creates a ‘danger of regulators falling over each other’s feet’, and pledged to conduct a review of it within the current parliament. He has confirmed that civil servants have begun talks with the SRA, BSB and other interested groups.

Letter from Regulators

Mr Gove also revealed he is considering consulting on deregulatory amendments to the 2007 act before the review. This comes after joint letters from the Legal Services Board, the oversight regulator, and other frontline regulators were sent to the government in July. They are believed to have questioned why alternative business structures face a greater burden of regulation and suggest reforms to rules around handling client money. Source: Law Society Gazette

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