Legal Services Board

Regulation of the legal profession is the responsibility of the approved regulators (ARs). The LSB is responsible for overseeing the approved regulators and to ensure that regulation is conducted in adherence to the regulatory objectives, which it does through assessment against a regulatory performance framework. The LSB is responsible for ensuring that the approved regulators’ representative and regulatory functions are sufficiently independent from one another.

It does this by establishing Internal Governance Rules (IGR), which dictate how regulators’ independent regulatory arms are kept independent.

When regulators make changes to the rules governing those they regulate, they are required to submit an application to the LSB. The board then assesses these changes against a set of criteria on which applications can be refused, laid down in the Act.

The following list is a breakdown of the different legal professions, along with the approved regulator for that profession and its independent regulatory arm.

The approved regulators are:

The LSB has the power to recommend to the Lord Chancellor that they approve further approved regulators.[6]^{:s.20/ Sch.2, Pt.2} This means that new bodies can apply to the LSB to become front-line regulators of parts of the legal profession. As a result of the LSA 2007 coming into force, all changes to these bodies' internal professional regulatory arrangements must be approved by the LSB.[10]:s.20/ Sch.3, Pt.3

Under Section 51 to 54, the LSB has a duty to regulate practising fees, resolve regulatory conflicts and work with the Competition and Markets Authority and Lord Chancellor on competition issues.[7]

It has a duty to promote eight regulatory objectives defined under the Act, a duty it shares with the approved regulators:[6][7]^:s.28

• Protecting and promoting the public interest;
• Supporting the constitutional principle of the rule of law;
• Improving access to justice;
• Protecting and promoting the interests of consumers of legal services;
• Promoting competition in the provision of legal services;
• Encouraging an independent, strong, diverse and effective legal profession;
• Increasing public understanding of the citizens' legal rights and duties;
• Promoting and maintaining adherence to the professional principles.

The professional principles are:

• Authorized persons should act with independence and integrity;
• Authorized persons should maintain proper standards of work;
• Authorized persons should act in the best interests of their clients;
• Persons who exercise their rights before any court, a right of audience, or conduct litigation in relation to proceedings in any court by virtue of being authorized persons, should comply with their duty to the court to act with independence in the interests of justice;
• Affairs of clients should be kept confidential.

If the approved regulators fail to uphold the regulatory objectives, or if they fail to comply with the 2007 Act, the LSB can:[7]

• Under Sections 32 to 34: issue directions to the regulator to correct the deficiency;
• Under Sections 35 to 36: publish a public censure;
• Under Sections 37 to 40: impose a financial penalty;
• Under Sections 41 to 44: make an intervention direction whereby the regulatory function is performed by a person nominated by the Board;[8] and
• Under Sections 45 to 48: recommend that Lord Chancellor cancel the regulator's approval.

Under Section 51 to 54, the LSB has a duty to regulate practising fees, resolve regulatory conflicts and work with the Competition and Markets Authority and Lord Chancellor on competition issues.[7]

Dr Helen Phillips, Chair (lay-member, under the Act, the Chair is required to be a lay member).

The Lord Chancellor appointed Dr Helen Phillips as a lay-member of the board on 9 March 2015. She took over as interim Chair on 1 May 2017 after the previous post-holder, Sir Michael Pitt, decided not to seek a second term.

On 18 June 2018, following an open appointments process, the Lord Chancellor appointed Dr Phillips as a permanent Chair until 31 March 2023.

First term: March 2015 – March 2018.

Second term: April 2018 – March 2023

Matthew Hill, Chief Executive

Matthew joined the LSB in August 2018 as Chief Executive and as a member of its Board.

Catherine Brown (lay member)

First term: 1 April 2019 to 31 March 2023

Jemima Coleman (non-lay member)

First term: April 2016 – April 2019[11]

Second term: 18 April 2019 to 17 April 2023

David Eveleigh (non-lay member)

First term: October 2017 – March 2019 [12]

Second term: April 2017 - March 2020

Marina Gibbs (lay member)

First term: April 2014 - March 2017[13]

Second term: April 2017 - March 2020

Ian Hamer OBE (Member, non-lay)

First term: 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2023

Michael Smyth CBE QC (non-lay member)

First term: April 2016 - April 2019[14]

Second term: 18 April 2019 to 17 April 2023

Catharine Seddon (lay member)

First term: October 2016 - September 2019[15]

Second term: 1 October 2019 to 30 September 2023

Sir Michael Pitt

First term: May 2014 - April 2017[16]

David Edmonds

Second term: May 2011 - April 2014

First Term: - April 2011 [17]

The current Chair is Sarah Chambers, an expert in regulation, competition and consumer policy. The LSB announced her appointment on 17 April 2018.[19]

The Panel’s inaugural Chair, Dr Dianne Hayter, was appointed in 2009. She did not take the position because of ongoing commitments in the House of Lords. She was succeeded in August 2011, by Elizabeth Davies.

After Davies stepped down at the end of 2016, the Legal Services Board appointed Dr Jane Martin to the post. Dr Martin stepped down in early 2018 to take up a role at the Office for Legal Complaints.[20]