Information about legal regulation.

A brief history of regulation

The legal world is one steeped in tradition, which is perhaps no surprise given that the earliest foundations of our current legal system were formed many hundreds of years ago! One aspect of this tradition which has been hard to shake is the heavy regulation, which for years meant that only traditional law firm partnerships could deliver legal services to the public.

Thankfully that changed in 2007 when a process of gradual deregulation was introduced, and further expanded recently in 2019. The law that brought about this change was the Legal Services Act. One of the major overhauls was the split of legal work into two distinct work types: reserved and non-reserved.

Reserved work covers just the following: appearing in court, conducting litigation, lodging certain property documents, conducting probate, administering oaths and notarial activities. Everything else is non-reserved - including general legal advice, alternative dispute resolution (before litigation), and drafting commercial documents e.g. contracts. Only regulated law firms and/or practising solicitors can do reserved work but the change in law means that unregulated businesses can undertake non-reserved work.

Choosing unregulated

 It is understandable to be a little unsure at the mention of the term ‘unregulated’. However, these businesses are integral to the delivery of legal services in England and Wales. Very recently, the Legal Services Board estimated that the unregulated sector may account for up to 39% of the total market for small businesses, covering a variety of legal issues.

There are huge benefits to deregulation both generally and in the context of legal services; deregulation was necessary to increase competition, innovation, and consumer choice in the market.  In the same study mentioned above, the Legal Services Board found that unregulated providers are often cheaper, more innovative, and more transparent with their prices than regulated competitors; while still offering a very good level of client service overall. It is easy to see why the unregulated model is attractive to both the legal service provider and its clients.

SLL’s business model

I made a clear and intentional decision to formulate SLL as an unregulated alternative legal service provider, (meaning the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) does not regulate the service that SLL delivers), for several good reasons:

1. Focused delivery. SLL delivers only non-reserved legal activities to clients, which supports a focused and streamlined business model; reserved areas are rarely applicable to SLL’s business clients looking for commercial advice / services. Regulation is no longer necessary for non-reserved work (as outlined above).

2.  Reduced overheads / costs. The cost of complying with the regulatory regime can be very high and by removing certain overheads, I can offer much lower prices to clients.

3.  More time for clients. The regulatory regime can be time-consuming and involve a lot of procedural hoop-jumping. This would hike up the overall cost of doing business and reduce the efficiency / speed of the service that SLL can deliver to clients.

4.  Technology and Innovation. A regulated business has a number of restrictions which can inhibit innovation and the use of technology; an unregulated firm is not held back in the same way.  

 Quality of service

Whether a business is regulated or unregulated doesn’t necessarily have a bearing on the quality of service delivered to clients. After all, as in any market there are good and bad regulated businesses, and good and bad unregulated ones! It is reassuring of course that the Legal Services Board found that overall satisfaction levels are high and similar for regulated and unregulated providers.

Nonetheless, some concern over unregulated offerings employing inexperienced and/or unqualified consultants is reasonable and understandable. However, clients can rest assured that this is not the case with SLL - you will receive the highest standard of service because you will be getting a trusted legal advisor who:

• studied, trained, and qualified as a practising solicitor;

• worked for over a decade in various top 50 (regulated) law firms;

• has significant experience of the legal commercial world;

• has vast experience of the SRA regulatory regime and a full understanding of what constitutes great client care;

• remains on the roll of solicitors (currently non-practising) where regulatory status can be monitored; and

• is accountable to the SRA under the core SRA Principles.

Ultimately, being unregulated is a fantastic fit for SLL’s business model and it allows a degree of flexibility and innovation that is not available for regulated businesses. It really is an exciting time for the profession now that regulators are seeing the true benefits that this modern system has to offer.