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Legal Services Bill [HL]

This amendment is the first of a number of amendments proposed to Schedule 16, on an issue on which the Law Society has been very much engaged to ensure that we have effective regulation. Although we agree that some changes may be necessary, we are not persuaded that we should accept the amendment. If persons who had qualified and enrolled as solicitors were seeking to avoid regulation when carrying out reserved legal activities because they had been employed under an alternative job description, they would be guilty of the offence of carrying on a reserved legal activity when not entitled, which is provided for at Clause 14. The amendment goes further, as the noble Lord said, in that it relates to the provision of legal services, not reserved legal services. We have no evidence to suggest that persons providing legal services should be under any greater statutory duty to hold a practising certificate than other legal professionals simply because they may have once been enrolled and admitted as solicitors. If they are not carrying out reserved legal activities and not using the title ““solicitor”” or any other restricted term, they are not required to be authorised by an approved regulator to carry out the services that they provide. Of course, the Bill captures persons who carry out reserved legal activities when not entitled to do so and persons who pretend to be so entitled when they are not, under the offences in Clauses 14 and 16. However, this is important in relation to reserved legal activities, where there is a greater regulatory risk. Clause 1A of the Solicitors Act 1974 ensures that persons who have been admitted and enrolled as solicitors and are employed as solicitors must hold practising certificates. However, firms may choose to employ people who are not qualified lawyers, but who nevertheless can provide them with the sort of general advice that they require. Provided no reserved legal activity is involved, I do not see why we should treat persons who may have once qualified as a lawyer any differently from any other person who may provide general advice to their employer. Decisions such as these are purely business decisions for the organisations and individuals concerned. If we see evidence to the contrary, Clause 68 gives the board power to make appropriate recommendations. As we do not have any evidence at this point to suggest it is an issue, I hope that the noble Lord will withdraw the amendment.