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Complaint lodged about Scottish legal services |
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Tuesday, 08 May 2007 |
The consumer body Which? has announced that it has made a super-complaint to the Office of Fair Trading regarding the operation of legal services in Scotland.
The body can make such super-complaints under the provisions of the
Enterprise Act of 2002 if it believes that market features may be
significantly harming consumers' interests.
It has said that the current structure of strict controls on how legal
professionals in Scotland are allowed to practice and how consumers can
access legal representation hinders market innovation, restricts
consumer choice and may lead to higher prices.
Scottish legal services are currently regulated by two professional
bodies, the Law Society of Scotland and the Faculty of Advocates.
Which? is calling for this to be deregulated in order to improve the
services available to consumers, as the current restrictions prevent
consumers from instructing advocates directly, solicitors working with
advocates, advocates with other advocates and in general lawyers from
working alongside non-lawyers to offer other services to their clients.
Which? believe that deregulation would allow conveyancers, mortgage
advisers, surveyors and estate agents to work together to deliver
packages of legal and other services, which would result in greater
convenience and less cost to consumers.
Julia Clarke, principal public affairs officer at Which? said: “People
should be able to access legal services from a range of organisations,
not just traditional law firms. This should lead to improved standards
of customer service and greater efficiency, improving price and quality
for consumers.
“Although most of the restrictions can be removed straight away,
deregulation will require the introduction of new legislation to ensure
that people are not left vulnerable to unscrupulous practices. Also,
regulation of solicitors and advocates needs to be overseen by an
independent body to ensure that regulators put consumer interest first.”
Commenting on the lodging of the super-complaint, Douglas Sinclair, the
chair of the Scottish Consumer Council, said: “We believe that there is
a strong case for opening up competition in the market for legal
services in Scotland. We welcome the broad thrust of this
super-complaint, which builds on the in-depth work conducted by the
Scottish Consumer Council revealing systematic problems in the way
legal services are structured and regulated.
“Our own discussions with the Office of Fair Trading have focused on
the urgent need for greater competition in Scottish legal services.
Action by the OFT should help open up a market that has for too long
neglected consumers and put the vested interests of lawyers first. We
will be interested to see the terms of this super-complaint.”
The super-complaint has been welcomed by some prominent lawyers.
Stephen Silver, a senior partner at Leslie Wolfson Solicitors in
Glasgow, said: "We have always adopted a commercial approach to our
business. We believe that in order to thrive we must apply the same
rules as any other business. The laws of economics apply to us as they
do to everyone else. We must be free to react to the needs of our
clients. If our ability to provide a service is fettered by
unnecessarily restrictive regulation our clients and our business will
suffer.
“It is very difficult indeed, when barriers are dropping within the EU,
to say as a profession we are different and these considerations do not
apply to us. Lawyers are no different from any other business. Subject
to the necessary safeguards for clients and the public we should have
the same freedoms. We believe it [deregulation] will result in new and
innovative services being developed and our profession being
strengthened and not diminished in any way."
John Campbell QC, of Oracle Chambers, added: “The Which?
super-complaint poses very important questions for the way in which law
is practised in Scotland, and opens up the potential for a much more
open market in the provision of legal services. It should be welcomed
by lawyers as a whole, and by the Executive.”
No one has commented on this article.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 08 May 2007 )
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