ABSTRACT
The Legal Services Act 2007 received Royal Assent on 30 October 2007 following recommendations in Sir David Clementi’s Review of the Regulatory Framework for Legal Services in England and Wales. It was introduced to reform the regulation of legal services in England and Wales, to liberalize the market, increase competition, protect consumers, increase access to justice and provide common standards across the profession. In Ireland there was a review of the legal profession with the introduction of the Legal Services Regulation Bill 2011 which followed on from a study published by Anne Neary Consultants coming out of the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations after the financial services bail out. The Legal Services Board is an independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. Its Chair and members are appointed by the Lord Chancellor and it became fully operational on 1 January 2010.
