The prospect of being regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority appears to have driven a surge in the number of legal executives wanting to switch to a conveyancing and probate regulator.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers normally sees up to 10 legal executives convert to CLC regulation annually. In the past 12 months, this figure has surged to 112.

Stephen Ward, the CLC's director of strategy and external relations, told the Gazette that uncertainty over the future of the regulatory regime for legal executives was ‘definitely driving’ some of the surge.

CILEX, the representative body for 20,000 or so legal executives, met SRA leaders in May for transfer talks after the Legal Services Board confirmed that CILEX, in principle, had the power to explore redelegating its regulatory functions. CILEX currently delegates its regulatory functions to CILEx Regulation.

Ward said the CLC started to receive enquires from legal executives around July last year – when the civil war between CILEX and CILEx Regulation became public. Numbers ‘really picked up’ in September.

Stephen Ward

Ward: Uncertainty over future of regulatory regime ‘definitely driving’ some of the surge

The nature of CLC as a specialist regime that provides assisted compliance was a ‘pull factor’, Ward said. Uncertainty arising from the dispute between CILEX and CILEx Regulation was the ‘push’.

Next week CILEx Regulation's board will meet to discuss responses to its recent consultation on improving the current regulatory model. The first question of the consultation asked: ‘Do you consider it to be a priority to change the current regulatory system? Yes/No. Please give reasons for your answers.’ Legal executives were also asked about CILEx Regulation becoming more independent from CILEX.

A summary of responses and proposals will be published in mid-July.

According to CILEx Regulation's website, CILEX will publish a consultation on the SRA’s proposals and CILEx Regulation’s proposals later this month. In November, CILEX and CILEx Regulation will agree a way forward and make proposals for any rule changes to the Legal Services Board. The oversight regulator could take up to three months to make a decision.

 

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