Your headline ‘Legal Services Board rebuffs Djanogly on ILEX rights’ does not reflect accurately the LSB’s position on this issue.

It is correct that the LSB is currently considering ILEX’s application to extend the rights of legal executives to conduct litigation and appear in court. In doing so, we are assessing the application against the limited criteria set out in the Legal Services Act 2007, which we are allowed to consider when reaching our decision.

We agree with the minister that this is a decision with the potential to have a significant impact on the market. It is, therefore, all the more important that we scrutinise the application to make sure ILEX, in preparing the submission, consulted widely and thoroughly, and appropriately addressed all legitimate concerns.

It would be wrong for the LSB to repeat or re-run consultation that should properly be done by approved regulators.

That would be to undermine their role as frontline regulators and our own as a regulator with oversight responsibilities.

But we would be remiss if we did not ask an approved regulator, in this case ILEX, to address points made to us that were either not raised during the consultation process or that were not adequately addressed by ILEX in their submission.

It is, therefore, incorrect to say we are rejecting the minister’s concern to see due consultation and engagement take place before any decision is made.

Indeed, this is an assurance we have already given the minister.

Julie Myers, corporate director, Legal Services Board