UK Parliament / Open data

Compensation Bill [HL]

moved Amendment No. 52:"Page 3, line 33, leave out ““The Secretary of State may by order provide that””" The noble Lord said: In speaking to Amendment No. 52, I shall speak also to Amendment No. 54 because the two amendments are intrinsically connected and need to be taken together. The effect of the amendments is that there will be statutory exemptions in the Bill for members of regulated branches of the legal profession—that is, basically solicitors and barristers. Solicitors are regulated by the Law Society and barristers by the Bar Council. The proposals reflected in the amendments come from the Law Society. Most solicitors’ firms provide claims management services as part of their practice. I understand that the Government propose to exempt solicitors from the regulatory regime where they provide services of this kind as part of their normal practice. If the order to give exemption to solicitors is made under Clause 4, it can be revoked, and revocation merely requires the negative resolution procedure. The independence of the legal profession is of course a matter of great constitutional importance. I do not think that I need to explain why because I am sure that it is entirely obvious and recognised by all concerned. It follows from that that there is a strong argument that we should require primary legislation to remove the exemption from solicitors or other regulated legal professions. The amendments, taken together, would do just that. There is a precedent for giving exemption to legal professionals in the Immigration and Asylum Act 1999. The amendments would apply only to solicitors who were providing claims management services as part of their legal practice. Where, as has happened in a number of cases, solicitors set up a separate claims management business which is not part of their practice, that business is not regulated by the Law Society and would, and should, be regulated under the Bill. The Law Society is also concerned about the position of foreign lawyers working in the United Kingdom. Foreign lawyers often litigate, or sponsor litigation, in the United Kingdom through firms based in the UK, and they will be subject to the Bill in so far as they carry out claims management services, which a number of them do. Some of these foreign firms are members of the Law Society and will be exempt, but those which are not members of the Law Society will usually be members of a regulated profession in their home country. Will the Minister’s department consider exempting foreign lawyers of this kind if it is satisfied that there is an adequate regulatory system in the home country? If they are not exempt, there will be a disincentive for foreign lawyers to litigate in the United Kingdom. In many cases—particularly in commercial law—England is the jurisdiction of the parties’ choice, even though the law does not require them to litigate here. The Law Society is concerned that failure to exempt foreign legal firms could be damaging to the attractiveness of England as a jurisdiction of choice in commercial cases, and that would damage what is a substantial earner of foreign exchange for the United Kingdom. I beg to move.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
677 c317-8GC 
Session
2005-06
Chamber / Committee
House of Lords Grand Committee
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