The Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed its intention to undertake an independent review of regulatory events leading up to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA) intervention into Axiom Ince.
This was a significant case with considerable consumer detriment. In the Board’s view, it will be important for public and professional confidence that any learning can be identified with independence, and that any conclusions that may be drawn are based on an objective assessment of the facts.
The full terms of reference of the independent review will be published in January 2024, with the aim of reporting in spring 2024.
The LSB will partner with the law firm Carson McDowell to carry out the review. Based in Northern Ireland, this firm is not regulated by the SRA.
The LSB is grateful to the SRA for making clear its intention to co-operate fully with this review.
ENDS
About the Legal Services Board
- The Legal Services Board is an independent body responsible for overseeing the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales.
- We oversee nine approved regulators, some of which have delegated their regulatory functions to independent regulatory bodies.
- We are funded by a levy on the approved regulators
- We operate within a statutory framework set out in the Legal Services Act 2007, which describes our functions and our powers. The Act sets out eight regulatory objectives, which we share with the approved regulators and regulatory bodies.
- We also oversee the Office for Legal Complaints, which is responsible for administering the Legal Ombudsman scheme, and we have specific functions in relation to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
About Carson McDowell
- Carson McDowell is Northern Ireland’s largest independent law firm, with over 200 people working in their Belfast and Dublin offices.
- They are a market-leading presence in the legal industry guides The Legal 500 and Chambers UK, where they are ranked number one across more areas of expertise than any other law firm in Northern Ireland.
- For more information on Carson McDowell, visit https://carson-mcdowell.com/about