I was pleased to see that your recent critique of our draft business plan and our aspirations for a vigorous and competitive legal services sector demanded action over rhetoric from the Legal Services Board. I agree and we have spent the last two years doing just that by ensuring the prompt implementation of the Legal Services Act 2007.

In passing the act, parliament was clear that historic anti-competitive restrictions on law firm ownership should be removed. Approved regulators are making great strides in modernising their approaches to regulation. They are urged on to do so, in many cases, by practitioners who are long frustrated by restrictions on business structure, complicated rule books and tick-box approaches to regulation that serve neither professional nor client interests.

We have never argued that alternative business structures will ‘cure all problems’ in the legal services market. That would be as incredible as to argue that the world without ABSs has been problem free. But even the most sceptical observers recognise that reform will have an impact.

As a regulator, it is not our place to prescribe the future shape of the market and the profession. Our expectation, however, is that more diverse supply will bring benefits to consumers and lawyers alike. Some in the market will take the opportunities on offer; some will innovate in response without altering their ownership structure; and some will decide it is not for them and hope to plough on regardless.

Some new players will emerge.

ABSs are not designed to be compulsory nor are they intended to force firms out of business. But it would be foolish for any firm to ignore the fact that the world is changing and that ABSs will accelerate that change.

As this happens in an evolutionary not revolutionary way, we approved regulators and licensing authorities will continue to act by monitoring developments closely, evaluating the effectiveness of regulation carefully, and reacting appropriately as all good regulators should.

Julie Myers, corporate director, Legal Services Board