News

The Legal Services Board has announced further details on how it plans to ensure regulation of legal services is independent from representing the legal professions. A newly published consultation document explains that the LSB intends to monitor how well regulatory independence is being achieved by embedding it within the “well-led” standard of its existing regulatory…

Read more - LSB says independent regulation of legal services should be a mark of good leadership

The largest ever survey of legal needs in England and Wales lays bare the advantages of the public understanding the legal landscape and seeking professional legal help. Executive summary Technical report Interactive dashboard (best in Chrome) Six in 10 adults (64%) experienced a legal problem in the last four years, including 53% who faced a contentious1 problem. The key findings include: Modelling…

Read more - Largest ever legal needs survey in England and Wales

Can Public Legal Education (PLE) really increase access to justice? Join us in Justice Week to discuss this question on whether PLE can really increase access to justice. We will present new insights from the PLE element of our Individual Legal Needs Survey. This seminar will provide insights into the barriers that people with lower…

Read more - Justice Week event on PLE – Monday 24 February 2020

Following each of our Board meetings, our chair Dr Helen Phillips provides an overview of some of the items discussed and key decisions taken. You can find full minutes on our website as well as more information about our Board members. Strategy Development 2021-2024 The Board has kicked off the development work for our strategy…

Read more - Chair’s Blog – January Board Meeting

LSB opens debate on professional competence in the legal services sector The Legal Services Board (LSB) today launches a call for evidence on how legal regulators ensure the professionals they regulate remain competent throughout their careers. The LSB wants to hear from people and organisations both within and beyond the legal services sector with any…

Read more - Ongoing Competence Call for Evidence

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has published its second progress report on the performance of the regulatory bodies in meeting the regulatory performance framework outcomes. There are clear signs of progress on the range of actions agreed in the assessments in January and June 2019, but generally the pace of delivery is slow and governance…

Read more - Legal regulators too slow in getting a grip on performance

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has announced a programme of activity to push forward its vision for legal services that everyone can access and trust. The proposals are outlined in its draft business plan for 2020-21, which has been published as part of a public consultation. The LSB oversees legal regulators in England and Wales and next year it will look at how regulators are funded when it completes its in-depth…

Read more - LSB proposes annual plan to drive change in the legal sector

If you are a legal services professional you might get a telephone call, at work, from Watermelon Research [external website] to take part in a telephone interview about the prices of some of your services. They will do this by asking for prices of services based on standard scenarios. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), HM…

Read more - Watermelon Research is interviewing for CMA, HMCTS and LSB

Following each of our Board meetings, our chair Dr Helen Phillips provides an overview of some of the items discussed and key decisions taken. You can find full minutes on our website as well as more information about our Board members. While we had a full agenda for this month’s board meeting, if we were to identify a unifying theme, it would be ‘looking forward’.   Business plan and strategy We approved our…

Read more - Chair’s blog – November Board meeting

LSB directs the exemption from the requirement for LSB approval of SRA amendments to make corrections to and update drafting within its Standards and Regulations.

Read more - [Exemption Direction] Exemption Direction 147 SRA amendments to make corrections to and update drafting within its Standards and Regulations

As of Monday 11 November 2019, the Legal Services Board (LSB) is based at 3rd floor, The Rookery, 2 Dyott Street, London WC1A 1DE. We have moved because our lease ended and the building is being redeveloped. Our new office is better value for money and will enable us to be a more effective organisation….

Read more - We have moved

LSB directs the exemption from the requirement for LSB approval of BSB amendments to the Bar Qualification Rules and an amendment to a definition in Part 6 of the BSB Handbook

Read more - [Exemption Direction] Exemption Direction 146 BSB Amendments to the Bar Qualification Rules and an amendment to a definition in Part 6 of the BSB Handbook