Accountability and the Regulation of the Large Law Firm Lawyer

Bibliographic Data

ID9197344
AuthorsJoan Loughrey (0000-0003-0160-3762, University of Leeds, corresponding author)
Year2014
Volume77
Issue5
Pages732-762
Publication date2014-09-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueModern Law Review (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0026-7961 • E-ISSN: 1468-2230
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/1468-2230.12088
OpenAlexW2148338366
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited45

The regulation of solicitors in E ngland and W ales has undergone great change in the wake of the Legal Services Act 2007. This article considers these regulatory developments through the lens of accountability, focussing on the regulation of transactional lawyers and the large commercial firms. It examines to what extent the Solicitors Regulation Authority's regulatory framework promotes accountability, examining entity regulation, outcomes‐focussed and principles‐based regulation, reporting and disclosure obligations, the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice and the sanctions system. It argues that although transactional lawyers cannot claim the benefit of the ethical principle of non‐accountability, as far as they and their firms are concerned, the regulatory framework is both unnecessary and insufficient. It duplicates the function of accountability to the client and fails to hold transactional lawyers to account for significant regulatory risks that they present, such as the practice of creative compliance

Accountability · Business · Compliance (psychology) · Economics · Function (biology) · Law and economics · Officer · Political science · Public relations · Sanctions · Transactional leadership · Accounting · Law · Law, Economics, and Judicial Systems · Legal Education and Practice Innovations · Medical Malpractice and Liability Issues · Psychology