144. Getting in on the Act? (November 2007)

The Legal Services Bill received Royal Assent on 30 October and will be available on the Office of Public Sector Information site shortly.

There has been plenty of time to prepare for the changes:.

• It was in 2001 that the Office of Fair Trading found that many of the rules of the legal professions were unduly restrictive, resulting in consumers receiving poorer value for money than they would have done under more competitive conditions.
  
• In 2002 Charles Falconer's department carried out a wide-ranging public consultation exercise. Consumers responded by saying that their needs were not being met. They felt legal services lacked sufficient orientation towards the consumer; they did not have confidence in self-regulation alone; and experiences of poor complaints handling had undermined confidence.
  
• In 2004, David Clementi completed his report on reforming the regulatory framework. His report confirmed that the case for reform was clear, and indicated that reform was overdue.
  
• In 2005 The Government’s White Paper clearly stated that its policy was to create a regulatory framework that directs regulation at those areas where it is needed. The proposed regulatory framework in the White Paper set the parameters within which it was felt firms could deliver consumer focused legal services. The rationale was that if those services were provided, both the consumer and the profession would benefit, with individual lawyers providing high quality services meeting individual client needs. The proposed Bill called for a Legal Services Board, and an Office for Legal Complaints, together with organisations providing legal services under alternative business structures to those available at the time. The Government's vision was of a legal services market where excellence continued to be delivered; but that was responsive, flexible, and put the consumer first.

So the warning bells have been getting louder and louder over a period of over 5 years. And yet is there much sign of solicitors planning for the new legal services environment - either exploiting the once in a lifetime opportunity presented by the Act, or even developing strategies to simply survive?

There are a few. Will they, sooner or later, be taking clients and staff from their unprepared competitors, or mopping them up through mergers and acquisitions on a scale never seen before?

It is hard to predict the medium and long term effects the Act will have on the profession, but it looks as though radical change is inevitable.

Change opens opportunities for those willing to embrace it. Management of change is a skill we can share with you - helping you get in on the Act, rather than just watching it happen.

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