*/
The Legal Services Board has approved the Bar Standards Board’s application to license alternative business structures (ABS).
The decision came 11 months after the application was submitted. The BSB intends to begin its ABS application process from October 2016, but that cannot happen until the designation has been approved by the Lord Chancellor and the necessary legislation put in place.
BSB-licensed ABSs will allow lawyers and non-lawyers jointly to own and manage businesses that provide reserved legal activities.
The BSB intends to license advocacy-focused ABSs whose activities are broadly similar to those of self-employed barristers.
Welcoming the announcement, BSB director of supervision, Oliver Hanmer, said: ‘It is testament to our desire to encourage innovation and competition and to improve access to justice within the legal services market.’
The Legal Services Board has approved the Bar Standards Board’s application to license alternative business structures (ABS).
The decision came 11 months after the application was submitted. The BSB intends to begin its ABS application process from October 2016, but that cannot happen until the designation has been approved by the Lord Chancellor and the necessary legislation put in place.
BSB-licensed ABSs will allow lawyers and non-lawyers jointly to own and manage businesses that provide reserved legal activities.
The BSB intends to license advocacy-focused ABSs whose activities are broadly similar to those of self-employed barristers.
Welcoming the announcement, BSB director of supervision, Oliver Hanmer, said: ‘It is testament to our desire to encourage innovation and competition and to improve access to justice within the legal services market.’
Chair of the Bar reflects on 2025
AlphaBiolabs has donated £500 to The Christie Charity through its Giving Back initiative, helping to support cancer care, treatment and research across Greater Manchester, Cheshire and further afield
Q&A with criminal barrister Nick Murphy, who moved to New Park Court Chambers on the North Eastern Circuit in search of a better work-life balance
Revolt Cycling in Holborn, London’s first sustainable fitness studio, invites barristers to join the revolution – turning pedal power into clean energy
Rachel Davenport, Co-founder and Director at AlphaBiolabs, reflects on how the company’s Giving Back ethos continues to make a difference to communities across the UK
By Marie Law, Director of Toxicology at AlphaBiolabs
Are you ready for the new way to do tax returns? David Southern KC explains the biggest change since HMRC launched self-assessment more than 30 years ago... and its impact on the Bar
Professor Dominic Regan and Seán Jones KC present their best buys for this holiday season
Marking one year since a Bar disciplinary tribunal dismissed all charges against her, Dr Charlotte Proudman discusses the experience, her formative years and next steps. Interview by Anthony Inglese CB
Little has changed since Burns v Burns . Cohabiting couples deserve better than to be left on the blasted heath with the existing witch’s brew for another four decades, argues Christopher Stirling
Pointillism, radical politics and social conscience. Review by Stephen Cragg KC
