The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEX) cast the regulation of legal services into turmoil this afternoon by announcing that it wants to dump its own regulator and transfer oversight of 20,000 legal executives to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Many solicitors are sure to be dismayed by the move, which will be perceived as a fresh initiative aimed at securing parity of esteem and equivalent professional status for what has traditionally been regarded as a junior branch of the profession. The move will also revive debate over the desirability of a single regulator for the entire profession - including the bar - which continues to be advocated by some sector experts and academics.
In a statement this afternoon, CILEX announced it is initiating formal talks with the SRA to 'explore a possible proposal to transfer the regulation of its members'. This follows reports of growing tensions between representative body CILEX and its existing regulator, CILEX Regulation.
The aim is to 'ensure that the regulation of the 20,000 CILEX members continues to be both independent and financially sustainable', CILEX said.
In a statement, the SRA said: 'We have been approached by CILEX with an invitation to enter into formal discussions on a proposal to transfer the regulation of their members to the SRA, while retaining their distinct identity as CILEX practitioners and their route to qualification. We have agreed to those discussions.'
CILEX Regulation Ltd came into being along with the SRA under the 2007 Legal Services Act, which overhauled legal services regulation. CILEX acknowledged today that its own independent regulator had 'raised the status of CILEX professionals, allowing them to become partners (there are now around 1,000), set up their own firms, and gain independent practice rights'.
However, it added that 'the number and variety of models involved in the regulation of legal services can be confusing for consumers and professionals alike, and regulation needs to help build understanding and confidence as to the choice of legal professionals available. Further, independent regulation must be able to operate at sufficient scale to deliver efficient and effective regulation at a cost that is affordable for consumers and the profession’.
CILEX said it believes the SRA has the 'scale and reach' to provide effective regulation, pointing out that 70% of CILEX practitioners already work in SRA-regulated firms.
At its annual meeting today, CILEX informed members it had written to the SRA to initiate formal talks following consideration of CILEX’s proposal, which has have been independently reviewed by Chris Kenny, former chair of the Legal Services Board. CILEX has notified the LSB that it is discharging its duty as an Approved Regulator under the 2007 act.
Professor Chris Bones, chair of CILEX, said: 'As a first step, we have asked the SRA to explore the viability of an alternative model. If having explored the proposal, we consider it to be able to offer the enhanced public interest benefits outlined in the Case for Change and to continue to provide effective regulation for CILEX members, we will run a consultation on the impact and implications of the proposed change.
'We believe that bringing the regulation of CILEX members into the SRA could give clients and others real clarity and confidence that regardless of who does the work, the outcomes will be of the same high quality. Any new model would need to preserve the distinct identity of CILEX Lawyers, CILEX Paralegals and CILEX Advanced Paralegals and retain the CILEX route to qualification. Importantly, there would be no cross-subsidy between CILEX practitioners and solicitors on the cost of regulation.’
Both solicitors and CILEX members would continue to have their own representative bodies – the Law Society and CILEX respectively, he added.
Whether the SRA would seek to change its name is unclear.
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