Magic circle wades into LSB independence debate

All five magic circle firms have thrown their weight behind attempts to amend the Legal Services Bill ahead of a parliamentary debate on the issue today (4 June).

The UK's elite firms have warned that a refusal to allow other parties to join the Lord Chancellor in appointing members of new-look regulator the Legal Services Board (LSB) would be a major blow to the independence of the profession.

In a letter to Ed Balls, economic secretary to the Treasury, the senior partners of Slaughter and May, Linklaters, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Allen & Overy (A&O) and Clifford Chance (CC), as well as Bar Council chairman Geoffrey Vos QC, said the Legal Services Bill could deter foreign companies and lawyers from investing in the UK and leave a £2bn hole in annual legal services exports.

The Legal Services Board is set to act as an overarching regulator with the ability to strip underperforming professional bodies of their powers.

The debate enters the House of Commons for its second reading today after the House of Lords made amendments to allow the Lord Chief Justice to become involved in the appointment process last month.

Vos explained: "It is crucial that our legal profession retains its reputation for independence here and abroad. It will only do so if the LSB is seen to be appointed independently from Government."

He added: "The UK's exports of legal services are too important to risk by blurring the clear mark of independence provided by the involvement of the Lord Chief Justice in the appointment of the Board."

The letter was signed by Slaughters' Tim Clark, David Cheyne of Linklaters, Freshfields chief Guy Morton, A&O's Guy Beringer and Stuart Popham at CC.