1. Introduction

The 28th December 2009 saw the coming into force of the Provision of Services Regulations 2009 (the Regulations), a set of regulations which apply to almost all service providers in the UK, including lawyers, and which contain provisions as to the information which must be given to clients and customers.

All lawyers who provide services to private and business clients will be subject to these regulations and, in addition, those lawyers working in in-house practice may need to be aware of them on relation to the business of their employer.
The Regulations implement the EU Services Directive (2006/123/EC) and apply to most service providers, and cover the provision of services to individuals and to businesses. There are a number of exceptions to the regulations. These are set out in regulation 2 and include:

• financial services, such as banking, credit, insurance and re-insurance,
• electronic communications,
• transport, including port services
• healthcare,
• temporary work agencies,
• audiovisual services, and
• gambling.

Whilst most firms will already provide much of the information which it is required be provided, nevertheless firms must ensure that they do provide the information and that it is made available in the correct manner. In doing so they may need to look at their client care letters, web site and other information provided to clients. They must also be aware that some of the information they must provide in advance and some is required to be provided on request.

The following item looks in more detail at the requirements and contains suggested text that firms may wish to take and adapt to deal with the requirements.

Information to be made available in all cases

Set out below is a check list of the information which you are required to provide in all cases, whether you are specifically requested to do so or not. This may be provided online, through some other medium such as your terms and conditions or in a written document sent to clients or made available at your place of business where an agreement to provide services to the client is entered into.

Sample web page showing information required

The following is an example of how a web page might look setting out the information required by the regulations. Please note that this is only a sample and the individual circumstances of each will need to be factored in. If the firm operates through more than one identity ? for example it has a separate business delivering conveyancing services under a different name or if the actual constitution of different branches differs, then there will need to be a separate set of information for each identity. You may need to include a separate web site page to cover each separate identity.

Note also that displaying all or some of the information through a web page may not necessarily be the best way forward for your firm and you will need to consider whether you wish to include the information in your terms and conditions, some other document or in another form at the main place of business or place at which a contract for the provision of the services is entered into.