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20 views4 pages

Resit A1

Uploaded by

assignmentmagicians
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The Legal Services Act 2007

The Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA) is the legislation that sets out the legal framework governing
the regulation of the legal profession in England and Wales. The Act created a Legal Services
Board to act as the primary regulator and define its functions; regulating individuals that carry
out certain legal activities.1 It also identifies “reserved legal activities”, which can only be carried
out by individuals that are authorised or exempt.2 Furthermore, the Office for Legal Complaints
was established to handle complaints regarding the regulated legal services.3

Legal Activities
Legal activities are general legal services such as providing legal advice, drafting legal
documents and representing various clients in court. However, it is important to note not every
single legal activity is regulated under the Legal Services Act 2007

Reserved Legal Activities


Reserved legal activities are set out and specified in section 12(3) of the Legal Services Act
2007 that impact legal rights. These include:4
1. Exercising the right of the audience in relation to representing clients in proceedings at
courts.
2. The conduct of litigation whereby authorised personnel manage a case through the court
process.
3. Reserved instrument activities that involves the preparation of any instrument of transfer
or charge for the Land Registration Act 20025
4. Probate activities handle estates after the death of an individual; dealing with the assets,
letters of administration and settling debts.
5. Notarial activities deal with the authentication of legal documents; deeds, contracts and
power of attorney.
6. Administration of oaths to individuals regarding their statements or affidavits to be true
and binding.
All of the reserved legal activities need to be authorised by an approved regulator for the legal
activities to be lawful.

Authorised persons
The Legal Services Act defines an authorised person as an individual other than a
solicitor who is permitted by an approved regulator to to carry out reserved legal
activities adhering to the regulatory requirements. 6

Regulation of the Legal Activities


The regulation of the Legal Activities in England and Wales is executed by
regulators bodies which are overseen by the Legal Services Board, under the LSA.
1 Legal Services Act 2007
2 Section 13, Legal Services Act 2007
3 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2007/29/introduction
4 Section 12, Legal Services Act 2007
5 Land Registration Act 2002
6 Section 18, Legal Services Act 2007
The approved regulators need to ensure that the authorised person’s conduct is in
compliance with the standards set out in the Act.The guidelines govern the way the
legal services that are provided by the authorised individuals are:
- Acting with independence and integrity
- Maintain a proper standard of work
- Act in the best interest of their clients
- But also comply with their duty to the court to act in the interest of justice
- Lasty, the clients’ affairs need to remain confidential. 7

The Legal Service Board ensures the services provided are up to the standards of
the objectives set out in the Act. They ensure the quality of legal services provided
by approved regulators to the wider public comply with objectives such as:
1. Protecting and promoting the public interest
2. Supporting the constitutional principle of the rule of law
3. Improving access to justice
4. Protecting and promoting the interest of consumers
5. Promoting competition in the provision of services
6. Encouraging an independent, diverse and effective legal profession
7. Increasing public understanding of the citizen’s legal rights and duties
8. Promoting and maintaining adherence to professional principles. 8

It is important to note that approved regulators are required to take disciplinary


action against authorised individuals who breach the regulatory standards that are
set out in the Act. If a person is found guilty of carrying out a reserved legal activity
when they are not entitled to do so, they could be imprisoned for a term not
exceeding 2 years, a fine or both.9 These standards upheld by the regulators help
promote accountability and transparency for clients that wish to use the legal
services provided to them, further improving the public’s trust and confidence in
these services.

There are circumstances where reserved legal activities can be carried out by
individuals that do not require authorisation from an approved regulator; an exempt
individual.10 This could include government officials acting within their capacity of
their profession. Furthermore, legal activities can be carried out by non-authorised
individuals if they fall outside of the regulatory guidelines set out in the Act;
therefore seen as unreserved. The unreserved activities would include:
- Providing legal advice with the application of the law for any legal dispute
- Providing representation with regards to the application of the law
- Any activity that doesn’t fall within the sex reserved legal activity categories.

7 Section 1(3), Legal Services Act 2007


8 Legal Service Board https://legalservicesboard.org.uk/about_us/Regulatory_Objectives.pdf
9 Section 14, Legal Services Act 2007
10 Schedule 3, Legal Services Act 2007
Approved Regulators
The Legal Services Act 2007 outlines the approved regulators that are responsible
for the different sectors of the legal profession which includes:
1. The Law Society (SRA): the solicitors regulation authority is responsible for
regulating solicitors at law firms in England and Wales. 11
2. The Bar Standards Board (BSB): is responsible for regulating barristers. 12
3. The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx): are responsible for
regulating legal executives.13
4. Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC): are responsible for specialists that
deal with legal professionals handling property transactions. 14
5. Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPRB): is responsible for regulating
attorneys that deal with patents and intellectual property. Alongside
regulating trade mark attorneys who practise and provide legal advice on
trademarks and designs. 15

These approved regulators have the statutory powers to ensure that the standards
have been upheld and enforced.

Qualification route
To become a solicitor the qualifying law degree needs to be completed (LLB) or a
non law degree which would be followed by a graduate diploma in law (GDL). Then
a one year vocational course needs to be completed covering the knowledge and
skills required to become a solicitor, also known as the Legal practice course (LPC).
A recognised training contract of two years needs to be completed to acquire
specialised legal skills before an individual applies to the SRA to become a
solicitor.16

Another route to becoming a lawyer is through the CILEx. Whereby an individual


would need to complete a level 3 professional diploma in law and the last stage is
the level 6 qualification. The student would be able to work whilst studying where
they are required to gain three years of qualifying employment in the legal
profession leading to a membership at the CILEx. Furthermore, CILEx is considering
an integration with the Solicitors Regulation Authority to enhance the professional
standards. This would improve the career progression of chartered legal executives
within the legal community. It also provides a clearer guidance for the consumers of
these legal services by ensuring consistency across the different divisions of the
legal profession.

11 https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/about-us/
12 https://www.barstandardsboard.org.uk/about-us/who-we-regulate.html
13 https://www.cilex.org.uk/about_cilex/governance/approved_regulator/
14 https://www.clc-uk.org/about/what-we-do/
15 https://ipreg.org.uk/about-us
16https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/career-advice/becoming-a-solicitor/qualifying-with-a-degree/qualifying-
with-a-law-degree
An Alternative Business Structure is a licensed body established under part 5 of the
Legal Services Act.17 This allows non-lawyers to be involved through an investment
as a partner.
CILEx entities could be re-authorised as recognised or licensed bodies (ABS’s) if
there is a solicitor or non-authorised person in management whereby the same
rules and protections would apply with an existing SRA-firms. 18

https://www.legalservicesboard.org.uk/Projects/abs/pdf/ldp_interviews_factsheet.pdf

the introduction of the Legal Services Act 2007.


Explain what these activities are, who can carry out ‘reserved legal activities’ and how those activities are
regulated.
Choose two routes into qualification as a lawyer, one of which must be different to a Solicitor or Barrister.
Ensure you discuss the concept of Alternative Business Structures (ABS) for legal entities and
explain what different structures exist, giving examples and analyse the strengths and
weaknesses of these models.
Include an explanation of what an authorised person is.
What are the different forms of ABS and how the structured
Include an explanation of what legal activities and reserved legal activities are.
You could choose CILEX or Cost lawyers as an example other than a barrister or solicitor.
Include a discussion on approved regulators. Has the LSA achieved its aims in terms of different
business structures?

You could expand on ABS as your word count is quite short and you have not mentioned
them at all. Some critical analysis of the LSA as well. You still have around 300 words to
use

17 Part 5, Legal Services Act 2007


18 https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/sra-statement-cilex/

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