From October 2011, the Legal Services Board will issue the first
licences enabling law firms to become Alternative Business
Structures (ABS) under the Legal Services Act 2007.
The Act allows all legal practitioners to seek
opportunities for external investment and partnership with
other professionals and non-lawyers. By these means, practices will
be able to increase their market share and profitability in a tough
and constantly changing legal market.
The Legal Services Act 2007 obliges the Solicitors Regulation
Authority (SRA) to have regard to "the principles under which
regulatory activities should be transparent, accountable,
proportionate, consistent and targeted at cases in which action is
needed". Therefore, in line with this, the prescriptive rules in
the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 are being replaced with a
new Code of Conduct, whose primary focus is upon
outcomes-focused regulation (also being introduced in October 2011)
and the move to a principles and risk based approach to
regulation.
The introduction of ABSs and the move to a new Code of Conduct
and way of regulating requires all practitioners to develop
a new commercial awareness and implement effective
management systems; this understanding is at the heart of the new
Legal Business Management Programme offered by BPP.
This timely programme explores these fundamental changes in a
constructive and in-depth fashion. Using experienced and
knowledgeable practitioners, we will equip you to tackle
these new challenges to your practice head on.
Click here
to download our latest brochure.
