UK Lord Chancellor Calls For Fast-Tracking Of Law Reforms

by Robin Pilgrim, LawAndTax-News.com, London

22 December 2003

Speaking at a recent Law Society Council meeting, the UK's Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer urged the industry not to wait for the completion of the Clementi review to implement reforms, and pushed for the introduction of multi-disciplinary partnerships (MDPs).

"We must not let the welcome fact of the work of the Clementi review put a stop to all progress in the meantime. We need to work together to examine areas where change for the consumer's benefit can be delivered in the short and medium term," he told the meeting, continuing:

"Multi-disciplinary partnerships, the role of employed solicitors, the probate market - these are just some of the areas we should look at quickly and imaginatively to see how we can respond rapidly to consumers' needs whilst, of course, ensuring that their interests are properly protected."

In a later interview with the Law Gazette, Lord Falconer confirmed that with regard to paving the way for the introduction of MDPs: "We won't need to necessarily wait until the Clementi review is completed at the end of 2004. The Law Society could come up with a way to do it without waiting."

According to the Law Society, whilst it would be a relatively simple matter to allow non-lawyers to work within incorporated practices, it would be more difficult to create a partnership model. This is because the Society would be regulating the individuals in such a partnership, a development which would require changes to the Solicitors Act 1974 to reflect its control over non-solicitors.

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