At last, City firms could get their own regulator
Corporate firms should be governed separately to the rest of the profession, a Law Society report into the regulation of the legal profession is expected to recommend this week.
Corporate firms should be governed separately to the rest of the profession, a Law Society report into the regulation of the legal profession is expected to recommend this week.
The Law Society commissioned former Ministry of Justice civil servant Nick Smedley to conduct a review on whether large corporate firms and high street
firms should be regulated differently.
The report, which is expected to be published on Thursday (26 March), will recommend that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) establishes a ‘City work regulators’ division aimed at overseeing firms handling complex work and with developed risk management systems.
The City of London Law Society (CLLS), which prompted the Law Society review, would welcome such a move.
Clifford Chance general counsel Chris Perrin, who leads the CLLS’s regulatory committee, said: “We’ve been pushing for a resource in the SRA which is fully able to look after City firms.”
The report will feed into a wider regulatory review currently being carried out by Lord David Hunt on behalf of the Law Society.
Readers' comments (4)
Anonymous | 24-Mar-2009 4:25 pm
City Regulation
I actually do practice in Kent, aspiring to the local Magic Circle, and the only white shoes we have are plimsoles. But the last laugh is on us; we can still have lunch and get back to the office without the spectre of redundancy clutching our throats. Oh, and Field Grieb are a local player albeit recently strated up. Come on you men of Kent!
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Helen | 24-Mar-2009 4:28 pm
city regulation
I do agree that law firms should write off season ticket loans. They're making you go, so they should bear the cost. After all, very few larger firms which offer season ticket loans are on their uppers, they're making redundancies to keep the partners (who get to stay, I know in some cases partners are also victims) rich.
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Anonymous | 24-Mar-2009 4:40 pm
City Regulation
So long as there are those wiling to be leveraged there will be those who can and will profit from that compliance. It would be mutinous surely for Associates to act in unison to ensure that their interests are balanced with those of the owners of the firms they serve in.
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Anonymous | 24-Mar-2009 4:40 pm
city regulation
i hear that associates will be able to work elsewhere on the fifth day, so long as it isn't for another law firm. guess we will be seeing lawyers behind the bar rather than in front of it.
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