The House of Commons have approved an order from the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives (CILEx) which allows their members to conduct conveyancing work — without supervision of a regulated solicitor.
A draft order was presented to Justice Minister, Shailesh Vara at the end of June. It was then expected to be approved prior to the Ministry of Justice summer vacation period.
Mr Vara intended to move the draft under the Legal Services Act 2007 as promptly as possible. He said, if granted, the order would allow CILEx members to provide conveyancing services unaccompanied. Furthermore, once regulations are set in place, members could be given the opportunity to eventually establish their own conveyancing practices.
The Legal Services Board (LSB) were said to be making a swift recommendation to the Lord Chancellor, in order to allow ILEX Professional Standards to produce accompanying regulations.
The LSB is satisfied that there will be no lowering of standards or lessening of consumer protection. It is satisfied that IPS [ILEX Professional Standards, CILEx’s regulatory arm] will be a capable and effective regulator in the legal services market.
says Mr Vara.
Andy Slaughter, Shadow Justice Minister, also approves of the order and feels the government had previously hindered the development of regulators, by suddenly putting an end to reviews. Mr Vara however states the issue is set to be considered again at a later date.
The draft order is due before the House of Lords in October and Mr Vara is anticipating great success if it comes into practice, commenting, CILEx’s expansion will contribute to the growth of the legal services market and will bring further innovation, leading to benefits for consumers of legal services.
Is this set to be a great advancement in conveyancing, or will this lead to further disruption within the process? Share your thoughts in the comments.
