Next month, the Law Society council will have to make the most important decision in my presidential year, the outcome of which will have long-term implications for the profession.

Council will have to decide whether to apply for the Solicitors Regulation Authority to be allowed to regulate alternative business structures.

Even though council can only make a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ decision, the complexities around the issue are significant. I want to make sure that the conclusion that council reaches is well thought out, carefully judged, and takes into account the wishes of Law Society members.

I also want members to be party to some of our thinking and the arguments that we will be considering, to make the decision-making process as transparent at possible.

Council’s starting point is that it can only vote for or against allowing the SRA to regulate ABSs. Council is not in a position to rewrite the terms or the rules by which the SRA regulates ABSs.

The Law Society council will need to consider whether a decision to become a licensing body for ABSs would serve the regulatory objectives that are set out in the Legal Services Act.

Chief among these principles are protecting and promoting the public interest, supporting the constitutional principles of the rule of law, improving access to justice and encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective profession.

This will need to be set against the context of whether such a decision would be in the interests of the solicitors’ profession, our members and of the Society.

Council will also need to debate whether the Society would be able to discharge the duties of an ABS licensor in accordance with the Legal Services Act, through the agency of the SRA, on the basis of the proposals which the SRA put forward to council for consideration.

Council will need to be satisfied that the SRA’s proposals guarantee safety for the public and for the profession, which will be underwriting ABSs through the operation of a compensation fund.

Council members will need to consider the balance of risks and opportunities that are to be gained from deciding to license ABSs or otherwise and the related, but quite distinct, question of the risks and opportunities for the Society which would flow from a vote in either direction.

Council will also be taking into account the likely response from external actors, including the Legal Services Board, the SRA, other approved regulators, law firms and potential market entrants when it makes its decision.

There are risks and opportunities presented by either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote, but I know that my fellow council members will have the interests of the profession at the forefront of their minds.

If council decides against the SRA regulating ABSs, it will not prevent their inception. But in all probability it will mean that the LSB will choose to regulate ABSs directly. Therefore, although the Law Society will need to bear up to 90% of the start-up costs, it and the profession will be shielded from any reputational risk.

Should council decide that it would be in the best interests of the profession for the SRA to regulate ABSs it will ensure that there will be a level playing field for both ABSs and traditional firms. I believe that this is of great importance because this will ensure that traditional law firms have the opportunity to compete.

However, if the SRA were to fail it would be a significant and damaging mark against the profession.

There are also still questions around whether the SRA can manage the risk of taking on the regulation of ABSs. The SRA will have to deal with the introduction of an entirely new regulatory regime (OFR) and moving to untried and untested 100% external ownership. At present, the SRA also seems to be planning to allow multi-disciplinary practices, whereby all services offered would be under one brand, without legal services being ringfenced.

It is also planning to reform education and training, professional indemnity insurance and quality assurance for advocates against the implementation of a new IT system and a very welcome cultural change within the organisation. It is, by any measure, a lot for one organisation to take on all at once and within such a short timescale.

There are a still a lot of questions that remained unanswered, and the SRA’s proposals are not yet complete. Council will debate this issue thoroughly before taking a decision in March. I can assure you that all the viewpoints and arguments will be considered and debated with great care. I know that each council member is very conscious of the implications that their decision will have, and I will be writing to them to remind them of that.

Although it is council that will be voting they are your representatives. I am sure that many of you will have opinions on how your member should vote, and if you do then please feel free to contact them.

You can find your member’s details on the Law Society website.

All council decisions are important for Law Society members, but this is especially so. The decision that council takes in March will impact on how solicitors do business and are regulated in the future. We want it to be the right one.

Linda Lee is president of the Law Society