Levies
The Legal Services Board (LSB) and Office for Legal Complaints
(OLC) will be funded principally by levies imposed on the Approved
Regulators. These levies ultimately have to be paid for by
authorised practitioners out of practice fees and will in some
circumstances have to be passed on to clients. You can find
out more about the LSB and OLC from their websites.
For ILEX, the Act opens up opportunities to enhance its role as
a regulator of legal services and to progress in due course to be a
licensing body for ABS. However, it must first become
an Approved Regulator for members practising independently as
litigators, probate practitioners and advocates. It will need
to consider whether it should seek rights in relation to
conveyancing. More information can be found here about the applications for new rights
ILEX has already made. These need to be approved by the Legal
Services Board and that process is in train. IPS and ILEX
have established a working group to look at how ILEX can move
towards becoming a regulator of ABS. Meanwhile ILEX is
supporting those Fellows who are able to take the opportunity to
become partners or owners in solicitors' firms.