The Legal Services Board (LSB) has set out the actions it took in 2024/25 to help legal services better meet the needs of the public. The oversight regulator took steps to make sure that regulation maintains standards, promotes confidence and facilitates economic growth.
One major action was to begin formal action against the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) after £60 million of clients’ money was lost through the collapse of the law firm Axiom Ince. The LSB is also working with the Bar Standards Board (BSB) to help it improve, after the LSB’s annual review found serious problems with how both regulators were performing.
Documented in the LSB’s latest annual report, these interventions demonstrate the LSB’s commitment to strong oversight that protects the public while enabling the legal services market to thrive.
The report also highlights the LSB’s work in implementing policy, providing guidance, and setting expectations for regulators. Recent topics have included technology and innovation – including AI – and complaints handling, with work underway on professional ethics and economic crime. In the coming year, the LSB will also focus on consumer protection and equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI).
The LSB remains dedicated to reshaping legal services to better meet the needs of the public. Its oversight protects consumers and the public, and supports a dynamic, competitive sector that benefits the economy.
Catherine Brown, Interim Chair of the LSB, said:
“With enforcement action against a regulator underway, an annual performance assessment that revealed significant shortcomings elsewhere, and a broader societal focus on lawyers’ ethics, the LSB’s role has been shown to be more necessary than any other point in its history.”
You can read the full Annual Report and a summary of the LSB’s achievements in 2024/25 here.