The Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed it is to push for proportionate regulation of in-house lawyers.

The statement sets out clearly the principles the LSB will have regard to when making statutory decisions about regulatory arrangements that affect in-house lawyers’ practice.

These principles are intended to inform regulators’ work on rules for in-house lawyers and have, as a result, been influenced by feedback from them and other interested parties. The intention is that there should be as few restrictions as possible and only those necessary for the protection of consumers.

Legal Services Board Chief Executive, Neil Buckley, said:

“This statement of policy is intended to support regulators as they reform restrictions on in-house lawyers and where appropriate remove rules that are no longer required.

 

We know some regulators are planning to review their current restrictions. The principles in our statement of policy provide transparency about the issues the LSB considers essential in this reform.

 

The statement of policy sets out in a clear and transparent way the areas of which we will be particularly mindful when we exercise our statutory functions.

 

It provides regulators with clarity on what is important to us when they submit rule changes or new regulatory arrangements.

 

The widespread backing for the statement supports the Board’s decision in September 2015 to take this approach and we hope that it will encourage essential regulatory reforms that will allow in-house lawyers to improve and innovate.”

The LSB’s Statement of policy on section 15(4) of the Legal Services Act 2007: regulatory arrangements for in-house lawyers can be found here