Brief overview and background

In 2016, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) carried out a market study into the supply of legal services in England and Wales, and published a number of recommendations. The CMA reviewed the implementation of its recommendations in 2020 and published a report of its findings.

A key finding of the CMA’s market study was that the legal services sector was not working well for consumers. The CMA found that consumers generally lack the experience and information they need to find their way around the legal services sector and to engage confidently with providers. As a result, consumers find it hard to make informed choices because there is little transparency about price, service and quality.

Consequently, one of the CMA’s key recommendations was that the regulators of legal services develop new minimum standards for the disclosure of price, service, redress and regulatory status, and require legal services providers to adhere to them. By improving transparency, it was expected that consumers would be more engaged when seeking and purchasing legal services, leading to better consumer decisions as well as better consumer outcomes in the market.

As part of its response the CMA’s recommendations, in 2022 the Legal Services Board published a statutory policy statement on consumer empowerment with which all the regulatory bodies must comply. This guidance supports the aims of the CMA’s recommendations and the Legal Services Board’s policy statement, in particular by contributing to your understanding of the minimum standards expected of you and how you can improve outcomes for consumers.

This guidance sets out our views on some of your key legal obligations ¹ This guidance is not intended to be a comprehensive account of the law and is not a substitute for reading the underlying law itself or taking your own legal advice where appropriate. under consumer law in relation to:

• • advertising and promoting your services to consumers;
  • the provision of information to consumers;
  • fair contract terms and conditions;
  • quality of services provided;
  • the consumer law concept of professional diligence; and
  • ADR and complaint handling.

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