We are in a period of profound change. Last month saw the culmination of the ambitions of legislators to liberalise the legal market with the approval of the first SRA-licensed alternative business structures. Their introduction heralds a major restructuring of the way in which legal services will be delivered in England and Wales. It is too early to say whether this will result in a ‘big bang’ for legal services, but the changes are significant.

The announcement highlighted the diversity of organisations that are embracing the changes, from a sole practitioner in Sidcup to one of the UK’s biggest retail brands, demonstrating that a measure designed primarily to give wider consumer choice in the high street will generate change throughout all levels and areas of practice. To the firms and businesses that say they have no interest in becoming an ABS, I say you are looking through the wrong end of the telescope. You may profess to a lack of interest but your competitors are very interested.

Our primary objective is to ensure that standards do not slip. We will consider applications as quickly as possible while ensuring that robust consideration is given and we are satisfied that we have the appropriate resources in place to do so. We will not compromise the public interest by cutting corners in the face of any pressure from applicants. ABSs are likely to spread over many of the initiatives ahead of us in our work this year.

First, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, now going through parliament, seeks to impose a ban on referral fees. However, as justice minister Jonathan Djanogly has acknowledged, a claims management company might own a law firm through an ABS, and thereby circumvent the ban - although, of course, the ABS would be regulated by us. Second, the bill will also permit lawyers to conduct high court litigation on a contingency basis. Those businesses that are now allowed to fund litigation on a contingency may, through an ABS, choose instead to own a law firm.

Third, solicitors, barristers and other legal practitioners can practise together through an ABS, regulated by us. I say this is just the start of increasing fusion. While the introduction of ABSs is the beginning of a major re-engineering, the mould will be broken by other significant forces of substantial change.

The Legal Education and Training Review, described as the most fundamental since the Ormrod report 40 years ago, has the potential to have a greater impact on the legal services market than ABSs, and could bring an end to the divide between solicitors and barristers. The current model of regulation is based on the admission of individuals by a single route to qualification - but should the criminal defender undertake the same qualification as the international commercial practitioner?

Is the training contract model and system of pupillage sustainable? What is the impact of diverse routes to qualification and the emergence of new legal roles? I must not pre-judge the review, but surely the old model of separate routes to qualification must be replaced by a much more flexible and integrated system of education and training for legal professionals. We must also get on and re-draw the boundaries of what is regulated.

The current approach - reserved activities - is the product of many decades of legislative tinkering and requires urgent rationalisation. A recent poll of 156 MPs commissioned by the SRA adds weight to this argument - 72% agreed that simplifying regulation should be a key priority for regulatory reform. Regulating by professional divides increasingly no longer seems fit for purpose.

I make a confident assertion that, just as in 2007, those who brought about the introduction of ABSs can never have foreseen the scope of change which we now observe in 2012, I suspect that in another five years we will also be surprised by what we will see. This may possibly be the law of unintended consequences, but the SRA will be there to ensure that the public interest is protected. In considerably fewer than 20 years, I expect to see a fusion of the regulators for all branches of the legal profession, which I suggest will be for the benefit of consumers and the profession alike. It is not a question of if, but when.

Finally, following the difficulties many of you experienced with online practising certificate renewals, we have been holding mySRA feedback workshops across the country and I would like to thank everyone who has taken part. We have received some extremely valuable feedback, which will be used to prioritise the issues needing resolution before we embark upon the next round of renewals in October.

Charles Plant is chair of the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority