Part 2

Regulation of legal businesses

Introductory

Overview of Part
38
1
This Part makes provision for category 1 regulators to authorise legal businesses to provide legal services.
2
Section 39—
a
defines what constitutes a legal business (and associated expressions) for the purpose of this Part, and
b
makes it an offence for a legal business to provide legal services without being authorised by the appropriate regulator of that business.
3
Section 40 makes it an offence to pretend, without reasonable excuse, to be an authorised legal business.
4
Sections 41 to 46 require category 1 regulators to prepare and operate rules to authorise and regulate legal businesses.
5
Section 47 deals with how a category 1 regulator is to monitor and investigate the performance of authorised legal businesses.
6
Section 48 and Part 2 of schedule 1 (which amends the 1980 Act)—
a
enable the Law Society to authorise (and regulate) legal businesses,
b
reflect that incorporated practices (within the meaning of section 34 of the 1980 Act) are to be authorised as a type of legal business.
7
Section 49 makes provision for where a body must change its regulatory regime by virtue of changing the manner in which it is owned.
S. 38 not in force at Royal Assent, see s. 103(3)