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Legal Services Act 2007. INTRODUCTION. The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the UK that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer complaints.
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INTRODUCTION The Legal Services Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the UK that seeks to liberalise and regulate the market for legal services in England and Wales, to encourage more competition and to provide a new route for consumer complaints
Alternative business structures and licensed bodies • Before the coming into force of the Act, lawyers in England and Wales could only practice as: • Solicitors, as soletraders or in partnerships with other solicitors • Barristers, as soletraders, or • Employees providing legal services to their employer • The Act allows alternative business structures (ABSs) with non-lawyers in professional, management or ownership roles. The Act creates a system whereby approved regulators can authorise licensed bodies to offer reserved legal services