A second high-profile regulator in the same week has announced his decision to step down. Alan Kershaw will leave his role as chair of the Legal Services Board immediately after less than two years, citing personal considerations for his departure.
The Ministry of Justice will run a formal process to recruit a new permanent chair of the oversight regulator and has already started the process for choosing an interim chair.
LSB chief executive Craig Westwood said: ‘Alan leaves with our gratitude for the leadership he has provided during his time as chair of the LSB. He has brought to this work valuable expertise in professional regulation, accompanied by strong championing of the needs of consumers and for the public good.
‘Under Alan’s leadership, the LSB has refocused regulation’s role in promoting technology and innovation that increase access to legal services. The LSB has also sharpened its expectations for regulators to improve how lawyers and law firms handle consumer complaints.’
The LSB’s senior independent director Catherine Brown will step in to chair the board for now.
On Thursday last week it was announced that Paul Philip, chief executive of the SRA, will retire later this year.
Reacting to Kershaw's announcement, Richard Atkinson, Law Society president, said: 'Alan Kershaw has had a significant impact in his time chairing the Legal Services Board during which it has had to take on a high profile and interventionist role with its investigations into the circumstances around d the collapse of Axiom and SSB Law. I want to pay particular tribute to his professionalism and thoughtfulness in his dealings with us.'
