Access Legal Solicitors

The new legal services bill  is coming this week and at the moment all we have to go on is this press release here. I thought I would write a brief, jargon-free report on my early thoughts. Highly subjective but here goes: (My thoughts are in Italics)

1. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority – The New Regulators

Structure

• 11 members,
• It has a lay majority of members and a lay chairperson with 2 barristers and 2  solicitors on the board.
• Accountable to Dail Eireann and the public.

You cant represent and regulate at the same time which is what the Law Society and Bar Council currently do. We know from countless examples ranging from Fifa to Finance that if you make the rules for yourself, it generally doesn’t end well. This is the main argument for an independent regulator.

2.  What powers will they have?

a) To end the Monopoly in the field of legal-professional education.

It’s not a huge market but that is no excuse for not allowing others to come in and try to provide competitive services if they can. The Law Society and Bar will have to allow the many other education providers to compete for students.

b)Unification of the two branches of the legal profession;

One of the most radical changes suggested in the Bill. Hard to know the reasoning for it as it has not been explained yet. It may be that it will simplify the situation for customers. Often lawyers forget that many people do not know the difference between Solicitors and Barristers. By unifying the professions it might serve to catagorise lawyers by their area of expertise instead of their role in the legal process.

c)A separate profession of “conveyancers” -

The problem at the moment is that it costs €10,000 or more for conveyancing solicitors to get insured. Throw in your rent and other costs and you will need to sell a lot of houses to break even if you undercut existing solicitors. I know that many solicitors do conveyancing at break even or a loss to keep clients.

d) Barrister partnerships, partnerships between barristers and solicitors and multi-disciplinary practices (e.g. lawyers/non-lawyers)

I like the idea that a solicitor, accountant and a tax expert can join together to offer a one stop shop for small businesses. Maybe an estate agent can join with a solicitor to make  the sale and conveyancing an all in one price. The danger is that this will restrict access to the best barristers. If one of the big firms decided to hire the top 10 Barristers it would restrict access even further.

e)Direct access to barristers for contentious business.

This is a big change and a good one. Previously you had to incur both solicitors and barristers costs to get advice relating to a case. Many young Barristers would benefit from being allowed advise clients directly.

f) Clients will be allowed nominate who should lead their case in court when members of both legal professions are involved.

This strikes me as odd. It is unlikely that anyone but the most experienced clients will know who is the best ‘case leader’.

3. Making legal costs more transparent  -

Both solicitors and barristers will now have to provide proper costs break down. A detailed Bill of Costs is required which contains specific information. Ongoing information will need to be provided and penalties will be imposed for lawyers who fail to do this.

The costs provisions seem pretty tame to me. Maybe its just the press release but the wording seems vague. There isn’t anything specific here about exactly how ongoing costs will be monitored. Lets hope the Bill itself has a bit more teeth in this critical area.

4. Ensure adequate procedures for addressing consumer complaints

The Bill will create an independent complaints procedure. This means that consumers will no longer have to complain directly to the law Society or to the Bar Council to obtain redress. It will be a three step process that involves alternative dispute resolution.

This sounds like real progress. We all know of the small group of solicitors who misbehaved during the last few years and its critical that the public can sound the alarm as early as possible with a group that are receptive to their claims.

5. What have they missed?

Online legal services have made routine legal work in the US and UK much cheaper. Traditional Lawyers in the US have sued these providers in most of the 50 states because they have taken their business. The government may not realise this but it will be a future battleground. Its something we are looking into. A company called Legalzoom.com allows people to draft their own legal documents online and is now the most recognised legal brand in the USA. We are building something that will provide a similar service to small businesses. Lawsimply.com

Final Thoughts,

This Bill won’t be perfect but it is progress. There will be problems with it that the LSRA will have to solve. To quote Steve Jobs “ Sometimes when you innovate, you make mistakes. It is best to admit them quickly, and get on with improving your other innovations”  If the LSRA can live by this, they will make a meaningful impact on the existing system.