3.The Act reforms the regulation of legal services. It introduces measures that allow for more competition and innovation in the regulation and provision of legal services. It also helps to ensure that the regulation of legal services is carried out independently from other activities.
4.Existing regulatory bodies retain their regulatory functions but with a requirement for these functions to be performed independently from other functions (such as representing the interests of the body’s members). New bodies can also apply to regulate the provision of legal services.
5.New arrangements are put in place for the regulation of legal businesses (which are distinct from the frameworks for regulating individual members of the legal profession). In addition, some restrictions on how legal businesses may be structured are removed. The Act also creates new offences relating to pretending to be a regulated provider of legal services, and it modifies the arrangements for dealing with complaints connected with the provision of legal services.
6.Part 1 deals with the overarching regulatory framework and has three Chapters—
Chapter 1 looks at the objectives of regulating legal services, the professional principles and other overarching material,
Chapter 2 sets rules for all regulators of legal services. In doing so, it divides regulators into two categories and imposes different conditions based on the category to which a regulator is assigned,
Chapter 3 provides for new regulators to enter the market and their members to acquire rights to provide legal services. While much of this is a restatement of material from the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Scotland) Act 1990, the rights to provide legal services are broader.
7.Part 2 introduces a requirement for category 1 regulators (at present just the Law Society of Scotland) to create and apply a set of rules for the regulation of legal services at a business level (for example, to require traditional firms of solicitors etc. to be regulated as firms as opposed to as a collection of solicitors).
8.Part 3 relates to the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and adjusts its powers and provides for an updated complaints regime.
9.Part 4 makes provision in relation to a range of other matters, including—
changing the ownership requirements for licensed legal services providers (sometimes referred to as alternative business structures) which don’t have to be wholly owned by solicitors and adjusting the restrictions on their businesses,
removing certain practising restrictions for charities and third sector organisations,
creating a range of offences in connection with people pretending to be regulated providers of legal services or using particular titles etc. that would infer that they are regulated in a certain way,
conferring power on the Scottish Ministers to require more (or fewer) legal services to be provided only by regulated persons,
making provision in relation to safeguarding the interests of clients.
10.Part 5 deals with a number of general matters.