Counsel Magazine

The Chair of the Bar Standards Board , Baroness Ruth Deech, talks of the need to take a scrupulous approach when considering barristers’ involvement in new legal structures. The Legal Services Act 2007 allows for different types of lawyer and non-lawyer to form businesses together. It also permits non-lawyers to be involved in the management or ownership of businesses that provide legal services.
Although the Bar Standards Board is keen to embrace these new dimensions, it believes this should be preceded by careful analysis of the issues raised in the responses to its second consultation paper related to the Legal Services Act.

Commenting on the issue, Baroness Deech said: "At the heart of the BSB lies the task of guaranteeing the quality of legal services to the client. Our work on new legal structures has been dominated by ensuring that whatever new forms legal practice may take, the client will still get independent quality advice at fair cost. The BSB has been spending much time closely analysing the responses received to its second consultation related to the Legal Services Act.