Law Society hits out at accountants’ legal services plan

The Law Society has claimed that plans to allow the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) to regulate legal activities would create chaos whilst providing no clear benefits.

In February of this year, the ICAEW stated that it was looking into applying for a permit to regulate providers of all reserved legal activity, after it claimed that its move into probate regulation was a resounding success.

The accountants’ body claimed at the time that by extending the areas in which it works, there would be more competition in the market.

However, the Law Society refuted this claim, stating that it felt there was no real evidence that the ICAEW’s probate regulation had done anything to increase competition or access to justice.

A statement read: “Outside the large firms there has been relatively little interest in offering other reserved legal activities, indicating that a widening of the ICAEW’s regulatory capabilities is unlikely to have a major impact on the legal services market.”

They also made the claim that the move would not only be of little value, but that it would also create customer confusion as to what different bodies could provide and what they couldn’t.

The Society statement concluded by questioning the training that the ICAEW would be giving its accountants, stating that it could end up with accountants advising outside their areas of learning, which could be a real problem for clients. 

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