Speaking before the House of Commons Justice Committee this week, Law Society chief Catherine Dixon urged the Government to shelve a planned Ministry of Justice consultation on separating the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority until the economic and regulatory uncertainty around Britain’s exit from the EU has begun to subside. ‘The current system is broadly effective. It would be the wrong time given the outcome of the referendum to undertake a full review of legal services,’ she argued, warning MPs against ‘the dangers of picking away at the finely balanced legal services sector when the sector, constitution and economy are going through a period of such unprecedented change.’

The Law Society is currently at loggerheads with the SRA over the latter’s push to become fully independent from the Law Society and to take control of setting and monitoring professional standards for solicitors. The possibility of a formal separation was proposed by the Treasury last year, with a consultation on the subject slated for publication in the coming months. SRA chief executive Paul Phillip told MPs that separating the bodies is essential to boosting public confidence in the profession: ‘There are [an estimated] 20 people per day who ring up our call centres who are confused as to whether we are the Law Society… It’s difficult to convince people [that we act in their interests] when they find our we’re part of the Law Society.' 

Sources: Law Society Gazette; Legal Business