Two aspiring regulators of the legal profession this week detailed their plans to be approved to license alternative business structures.

The Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) said it expects a decision from the Legal Services Board on its application within a year. The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) said it is almost ready to launch an eight-week consultation.

Both would compete with the main existing legal regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The ICAEW is keen to allow member organisations to become multi-disciplinary practices encompassing lawyers and accountants.

Its members, as well as the Legal Ombudsman, Legal Services Consumer Panel, lord chief justice and Office of Fair Trading, will all be consulted this summer, with an application to the LSB expected by the autumn.

Provision would be made for hundreds of firms doing probate work to be licensed by the regulator. The IPReg is expecting to be designated as a licensing authority by December 2013, subject to LSB and parliamentary approval.