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The Legal Services Board (“LSB”) will have powers to enter and search the premises of the Bar Council and other legal profession regulators under government proposals. The Ministry of Justice is consulting on the enforcement powers of the LSB when it assumes its role as oversight regulator early next year. Th ese include the power to take over some of the functions of any persistent or seriously failing regulator. Th e LSB will be able to apply for a court warrant to enter and search the regulator’s premises, and retrieve any documents needed to ensure a seamless takeover. Th e consultation asks whether any material should be exempt from search warrants and what a judge should take into account when deciding an application. It ends on 21 January 2010. In a first for the legal profession,
the LSB has appointed an independent consumer panel of eight lay persons to help shape the regulatory framework for lawyers. An early priority for the panel, which meets for the fi rst time at the end of November, will be the issue of referral fees. The experience of panel
membe r s cove r s t r ading standards, housing, business advice, employment law, health care, policing and refugee policy. Dr Dianne Hayter, the former vice-chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, who will chair the panel, said it would assess proposals “from the standpoint of users of legal services”. It will publish its advice.
The Legal Services Board (“LSB”) will have powers to enter and search the premises of the Bar Council and other legal profession regulators under government proposals. The Ministry of Justice is consulting on the enforcement powers of the LSB when it assumes its role as oversight regulator early next year. Th ese include the power to take over some of the functions of any persistent or seriously failing regulator. Th e LSB will be able to apply for a court warrant to enter and search the regulator’s premises, and retrieve any documents needed to ensure a seamless takeover. Th e consultation asks whether any material should be exempt from search warrants and what a judge should take into account when deciding an application. It ends on 21 January 2010. In a first for the legal profession,
the LSB has appointed an independent consumer panel of eight lay persons to help shape the regulatory framework for lawyers. An early priority for the panel, which meets for the fi rst time at the end of November, will be the issue of referral fees. The experience of panel
membe r s cove r s t r ading standards, housing, business advice, employment law, health care, policing and refugee policy. Dr Dianne Hayter, the former vice-chair of the Financial Services Consumer Panel, who will chair the panel, said it would assess proposals “from the standpoint of users of legal services”. It will publish its advice.
Update from the Chair of the Bar
Harmony Christian Ministries is the latest charity to benefit from a £500 donation from AlphaBiolabs via the company’s Giving Back initiative
By David Green
Mário Barroso, Head of R&D and Method Development at AlphaBiolabs, examines the forensic science underpinning hair drug testing, its evidential scope and limitations, and why it remains the gold standard for evidencing patterns of drug use in family proceedings
Unlocking your aged debt to fund your tax in one easy step. By Philip N Bristow
Clement Cowley, Partner at The Penny Group, discusses the upcoming changes to pensions and Inheritance Tax and the potential impact on your financial future
Reviewed by Daniel Barnett
James McNeill Whistler at Tate Britain until 27 September Rothko in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi until 23 August Reviewed by Stephen Cragg KC
The Chief Legal Officer to the Metropolitan Police, barrister Brett Welch, tells Anthony Inglese CB about his mission and the work to turn the Met around
Barrister apprenticeships – shortly to provide the fourth pathway to the Bar – are an ideal opportunity to support local talent and ‘grow your own’, say Tim Coulson and Dr Jane Dennehy
Oliver Lewis spotlights an overlooked yet rapidly evolving area of law – coercive and controlling behaviour within care contexts
