Nothing to do with employment law as such, but of great importance to lawyers generally...
Sir David Clementi has just published his report. It is extremely long. The key recommendations, which he urges the government to legislate upon, are:
- allowing multi-disciplinary partnerships (solicitors, barristers, accountants, management etc. all as partners)
- allowing commercial ownership of legal practices (TescoLaw). Sir David Clementi comments that "Unlike most high street solicitors, companies such as [the RAC] have nationally known brand names to protect, which may be a powerful incentive to operate in a proper manner" (Chapter F, para 22)
- a single independent body to handle all complaints, whether about barristers, solicitors or other legal service providers
- a new regulatory framework (which on the 'Model B+' basis, i.e. setting up an Oversight Regulator, the Legal Services Board, and separating regulatory from representative functions within the front-line legal bodies)
The Clementi Report
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