Scottish government announces review of legal services

Scottish ministers have announced a review of the regulation of legal services with a view to making independent recommendations to reform and modernise the statutory framework for the regulation of legal services and complaints handling.

The review will focus on the current regulatory framework, the complaints and redress process for providers of legal services including solicitors and advocates, and ongoing market issues such as investigating the benefits of regulating firms as well as individual solicitors.

Key stakeholders including the Law Society of Scotland, the Scottish Legal Complaints Commission and the Scottish Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal have previously produced policy papers calling for change to the current system including reviewing the complexity of current processes. The Solicitors (Scotland) Act 1980 (“the 1980 Act”) forms the bedrock legislation underpinning the regulation of legal services in Scotland.

It sets out how the Law Society of Scotland regulates solicitors. Some legal matters such as will writing and other issues may be handled by unregulated firms or persons. Additionally claims management companies are unregulated in Scotland. The review will be able to investigate all of these areas.

The independent chair of the review is Esther Roberton, current chair of NHS 24. Ms Roberton has extensive senior leadership experience in the NHS and other areas of public life. She is also currently a board member of the Scottish Ambulance Service (2014-18). She was chairman of SACRO (2010-2014) and until recently also sat on the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Audit and Risk Committee (COPFS ARC).

The Dean of the Faculty of Advocates, Gordon Jackson QC said: “I welcome that this review is taking place. It is very important that the legal profession retains the confidence of the public. I know that the Faculty of Advocates has earned that confidence, and that this thorough review will demonstrate that an independent referral bar has been, and will continue to be vital in maintaining an effective and fair justice system.

“The Faculty will willingly co-operate fully with the inquiry and I am confident that the considerable experience of the Faculty’s representatives, Laura Dunlop QC, and Derek Ogg QC, will be of great value.”

Law Society of Scotland president, Eilidh Wiseman welcomed the review and said: “The main Act of Parliament governing solicitors is more than 35 years old and simply no longer fit for purpose. We know the processes for legal complaints are slow, cumbersome, expensive and failing to deliver for solicitors or clients. There are gaps in consumer protection, contradictions and loop holes in the law. This is why change is so desperately needed to allow the legal sector to thrive and ensure robust protections are in place for consumers.”

She added: “One area we will highlight to the review group is the growing level of unregulated legal services where consumers are at risk if something goes wrong. Many people are unaware that some types of legal services are not regulated – for example, receiving employment advice from a non-solicitor.

“They may have little or no course of redress if something goes wrong. Consumers deserve the same level of protection whether they choose to go to a solicitor, and are therefore covered by Law Society client protections, or to use another legal services provider.”