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LSRA releases draft rules on legal partnerships

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has published draft regulations setting out how legal partnerships would operate.

The LSRA is planning to introduce the regulatory framework for the new legal-services business model in the coming months.

A legal partnership is a partnership between two or more legal practitioners (solicitors or barristers) where at least one practitioner is a practising barrister.

The authority stresses that the regulations published today (30 August) are in draft form only, and are subject to change.

It adds that practitioners should rely only on the regulations to be made law in autumn 2024 under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Legal Partnerships) Regulations.

Further updates

The authority has also published a frequently-asked-questions (FAQs) document explaining how the new structure will work, and providing information for practitioners on issues such as how to form legal partnerships, and their obligations under the new structure.

The FAQs explain how clients’ monies should be handled by legal partnerships, and state that such partnerships will be allowed to advertise their legal services.

The LSRA says that it will be providing further detailed updates in the coming months, as well as information on events on how legal partnerships will operate.

The authority held a consultation process earlier this year ahead of drafting the regulations.