Lord Hunt of Wirral will today call for evidence from the entire legal profession as part of his Law Society-commissioned review of regulation.

In a list of proposed questions he describes as ‘neither prescriptive nor exhaustive’, Hunt says he intends to examine the challenges for regulators under the Legal Services Act, such as the potential for conflicts of interest within alternative business structures. He will also look into the separation between the representative and regulatory functions of the Law Society, and the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s independence from the profession.

In addition, he says he intends to examine how the Legal Services Board should calculate the practising certificate fee, and the perception that legal advice is available only to the very rich or very poor.

‘The legal sector will go through a revolution that will transform it beyond recognition, and its regulators must keep ahead of the game,’ Hunt said.

Responses to the consultation are due by Thursday 9 April. An initial report will be published by early May, with the final report due in the autumn. Both will be published.

Meanwhile, Helen Davies, chair of the Regulatory Affairs Board, has raised the possibility that recommendations from the corporate sub-strand of the review may be acted upon before Lord Hunt publishes his full report. She told a meeting of the Law Society Council that ‘Lord Hunt may possibly say we can move forward’. Nick Smedley’s corporate review is due to publish an interim report this month with the final document ready for the Law Society and Lord Hunt in February.

Davies told the council that despite ‘real concern’ about the City going its own way, she hopes to maintain a united profession and encouraged all solicitors to contribute to Lord Hunt’s review. A series of roadshows in major cities, such as Cardiff and Manchester among others, will be held in the coming months.

Comments on the corporate review should be submitted by 16 January.