Preface
This edition of this book was a long time in the making. Jenny Levin and I had planned to produce a third edition much sooner. In the event, Jenny’s poor health meant that we delayed.
In spring 2012 Jenny was feeling much better. We had a planning meeting and worked out how to proceed. Unfortunately, Jenny felt poorly in the autumn and died in March 2013. One of Jenny’s many great achievements was her contribution to the Law Society group that produced the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007. This was the first statement of solicitors’ ethics to claim that title and it looks as if it may be the last. A summary of Jenny’s other considerable contributions to the discipline of law and legal practice was published by the Legal Action Group.[1]The six years since the previous edition have seen seismic changes in the legal services market in England and Wales. The Legal Services Board began providing ‘oversight regulation’ to the legal professions, or ‘authorised providers’ of legal services. The professions themselves are no longer self-regulators. There are also new ‘players’ in the market, business organisations providing services on a different model, but employing lawyers. These Alternative Business Structures have arrived as a result of the Legal Services Act 2007. They are intended by government to provide competition in a market previously dominated by professional concerns.
These changes in the legal services market in England and Wales arguably put the jurisdiction at the forefront of experimentation in legal services regulation. Since the previous edition both solicitors and barristers have responded to the numerous demands of the Legal Services Act. They set up separate regulatory arms so, strictly, the professions are no longer directly responsible for regulation. They publish regulatory ‘handbooks’ that cover organisations as well as individuals. As part of this format, new codes of conduct have been published for both barristers and solicitors.
It is appropriate to consider whether it is still appropriate to talk of ‘ethics and conduct’, as opposed to the regulation of the legal profession. The title was retained for this edition because the book looks at the evolution of professional ethics rather than just its current incarnation. This edition emphasises how the historical legacy is manifest in regulation, including in the latest codes. In laying out the material I have attempted to separate legislative, judicial and regulatory influences and stated the position as it stands at the beginning of March 2014.
Andy Boon
Gray’s Inn,
London
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