Closed Consultation
Regulatory-risk information requirements – 2009
2 July 2009
Legal Services Act: New forms of practice and regulationConsultation paper 15
The deadline for submission of responses to consultation paper 15 on the Legal Services Act was 31 March 2009.
You can download a report on responses to consultation paper 15.
The information that appears below is for reference purposes only.
The SRA is developing processes to regulate firms as well as individuals, as a means of regulating legal services more effectively and efficiently, and according to risk. This consultation is about the information we propose to seek from firms in 2009, as a first step.
The consultation follows an earlier one, Legal Services Act: Information requirements from firms in the context of a risk-based approach to regulation, which was published in February 2008. You can download a report on the responses that we received to that consultation.
The current consultation does not deal with the questions to be asked on initial application. The initial application form and accompanying notes will be available shortly (visit www.sra.org.uk/LSA).
The SRA has considered the feedback from the previous consultation to ensure that the information we are requesting for firm regulation is in keeping with the principles of better regulation. We have concentrated on what information is necessary or important for us to have from October 2009. We will only be collecting information that we need to help us develop a new fee strategy for 2010 onwards, or that we believe is required for the development of risk based regulation.
The proposals for 2009 are limited, in part because we do not want to ask for information that we cannot use effectively with our current technology. We will develop the annual return for 2010, subject to further consultation.
In light of the views received, the SRA proposes to require information on the following as part of the recognised body renewal process in October 2009:
- Turnover
- Work types
- Number of non-solicitor fee earners
- Negligence claims
We are seeking views on the effectiveness and clarity of the requirements.
We are keen to make the annual return of information as workable as possible for both the profession and the SRA. We will also ensure that the information we gather is appropriate and can be used effectively for our regulatory work to protect the public interest and maintain the standards of the profession, and maintain public confidence.