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Legal Services Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 149ZA: 149ZA:Schedule 16 , page 218, line 37, leave out paragraph 2 and insert— ““2 In section 1A (practising certificates: employed solicitors)— (a) in paragraph (b) omit ““or””, (b) in paragraph (c)— (i) omit ““by the Council of the Law Society””, and (ii) at end insert ““or””, and (c) after that paragraph insert— ““(d) by any other person.””.”” The noble Lord said: The amendment concerns solicitors’ practising certificates. Section 1A of the Solicitors Act 1974 was intended to be an anti-avoidance provision in respect of solicitors employed as solicitors by solicitors’ firms who, by avoiding undertaking reserved activities and avoiding using the title ““solicitor””, claimed not to need practising certificates. The same issue now exists in relation to in-house solicitors, some of whom claim not to need practising certificates if they avoid reserved activities and the use of the title ““solicitor””. The amendment seeks to put the obligation of in-house solicitors beyond doubt. All solicitors providing legal services would need to come under the society’s regulation. Solicitors who do not hold a practising certificate are subject to the same provisions in the Solicitors Act 1974 and, in many respects, to the same rules and regulations as solicitors who do. Such solicitors are subject to discipline and, in serious cases, can be struck off the roll of solicitors maintained by the Law Society. The only sanction that is not available in respect of such solicitors is suspension of a practising certificate. In our view, all solicitors should be treated consistently and be subject to the same provision. The practising certificate is an indicator that a solicitor is fully entitled to practise, and it is therefore logical to extend that requirement to all solicitors who are engaged in the provision of legal services. To make Section 1A cover that situation, it needs to be widened to include circumstances where a solicitor works in-house. The Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 altered the position of solicitors employed in private practice. In effect, it amended Section 1A of the Solicitors Act 1974 to require any solicitor employed in private practice in connection with the provision of legal services to hold a practising certificate. However, the new Section 1A did not affect the position of solicitors employed in commerce, industry and local government. The position here is that solicitors will need a practising certificate where they are the named solicitor for the employer. In such cases, they will be required to hold themselves out as a solicitor and will have a solicitor-client relationship with the employer. A solicitor employed in commerce, industry or local government will also need a certificate when he or she is held out as practising as a solicitor, whether in a legal department or otherwise, or when he or she wishes to undertake any of the reserved activities. For that category, the position is that the obligation to hold a practising certificate can turn on decisions made by the employer, such as the job title to be used. It is therefore proposed that the requirement to hold a practising certificate be extended to all solicitors employed in commerce, industry and local government in connection with provision of any legal services. I beg to move.