Our first full Board meeting of the year took place on 10 February. The minutes will be published on our website in the usual way, but in the meantime, here are a few of the highlights.
Litigation Rights: we reviewed progress with granting standalone litigation authorisation following LSB approval in early November, and in the light of the exceptional demand following the Mazur judgment. The Board noted that more applications are being approved at the first attempt due to the quality of the applications we are receiving and following the extra support and guidance we have provided. The Board also received data on application processing times and was reassured that applicants not needing to provide further information after initial screening are being processed within our processing targets. At present authorisations are exceeding the number of new applications being received each week. We are confident that with portfolio authorisations at the current rate coupled with the confirmed numbers taking the ULaw assessment route, a high proportion of those wanting them will have acquired practice rights by the Spring, providing much needed assurance and certainty to those affected. Notwithstanding this encouraging performance, we recognise that the customer experience has not been as smooth as we and many applicants would have wanted. As a result we agreed to conduct a ” lessons learned” exercise in the Spring once we have processed the bulk of applications.
Education: the Board had its annual review of the education landscape. We noted with interest that we have authorised more training providers to provide qualifications that deliver the knowledge and understanding requirements of our specialist pathways. This, we hope, will lead to additional choice in the market and increases in the numbers of those qualified. We also had a good debate on the Level 6 Apprenticeship standard which following recent Government changes is now the only funded route to gain practice rights. On CPD we welcomed the significant drop in non-compliant members and agreed to conduct our annual sampling exercise next month. Looking forward, we agreed to work to update the remaining legacy standards for Probate, Conveyancing and Immigration.
Enforcement: we agreed to the terms of reference for a review of our enforcement work which has not been updated for several years now. The aim is a simpler, fairer and more cost-effective system. Our aim is to issue a formal consultation document following our 14 July Board meeting.
Compensation Fund: we also agreed to the terms of reference for a review by the Strategic Risk Committee of our Compensation Fund arrangements to see if they remain fit for purpose. This will be reported to the Board at the end of 2026.
Policy: the Board approved a number of responses to consultation documents including the MoJ’s consultation on client accounts, the draft LSB Business Plan for 2026/7, and the LSB consultation on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. We welcomed the LSB’s proposed reduction in budget, and planned workstreams but believe it should do more to recognise the fast-changing legal market, including initiating a review of the 2007 Legal Services Act so it better reflects risk, and guarantees regulatory independence. On EDI, we are committed to a major programme of action as set out in our recent Three-Year Strategy but are concerned that the LSB’s draft proposals are too rigid and inflexible failing to set out clearly the costs of the proposed actions which will fall ultimately on firms and consumers.
Our next Board teleconference is on 9 March 2026, with a full Board on 16 April. As always if you want to know more, please look at our website, read our Board papers or get in touch.
