The Legal Services Board (LSB) have described proposals to publish prices as a ‘sufficient starting point’ to improving legal service price transparency.
Put forward in response to the results of a study from the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), the proposals aim to improve the price transparency and increase competition in the legal services market. In turn, this will enhance the consumer experience by providing a more clear indication of what a firm provides and allows them to compare firms against one another.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation have all recently put forward their own reform proposals.
Welcoming the plans, the LSB’s Neil Buckley, stated: “Our assessment of the action plans welcomes the collaboration between regulators and the leadership shown by individual regulators in different aspects of this agenda.”
However, he did also draw attention to the ongoing obstacles which the profession will face in order to meet the transparency demands. He highlighted the need for a balance to be struck between guidance and mandatory requirements in order to encourage firms to engage with the changes and best improve the consumer experience.
