Newsletter – June 2021

From the CEO

There are many ways to measure the success or failure of an organisation. For the legal regulators, a key indicator is how we perform in an assessment that’s undertaken by our oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board (LSB).

Two years ago, the CLSB was failing against 9 of the LSB’s 27 expected standards, putting us at the back of the pack by some distance. Last week, the LSB announced that we are now meeting 26 of the standards and are close to meeting the final one. Far from being left behind, our profession is now leading the way, and rightly so.

The Costs Lawyer profession is small – we know that, we hear it often – but the question is, how can we make the most of our size? It’s not good enough to say that we can’t meet our obligations and keep up with others because we’re small, so we need to get creative and find unique ways of doing things.

Over the last two years we have done just that at the CLSB, by making wholesale changes to our culture, operations and regulatory approach. The LSB’s assessment is the latest indication that those changes are having the impact we hoped for.

In responding to the LSB’s announcement, the CLSB’s Chair, David Heath CBE, said: “This assessment puts the CLSB toward the top of the LSB’s league table, confirming that smaller regulators can be just as effective as their larger counterparts. Our size requires us to be creative and resourceful in finding solutions to problems, and it’s great to see the LSB acknowledging that there is more than one way to meet the standards it sets for the sector.”

We need to be mindful, though, that when it comes to a profession’s size there is a tipping point below which regulation becomes uneconomic and thus inviable. Alongside the improvements we’ve made in recent years, we need to provide a catalyst for the profession to grow, whilst maintaining the high standards that clients expect. Imagine what Costs Lawyers could achieve with both a well-performing regulator and a stable pipeline of talented minds joining the ranks. This is our next priority.

Kate Wellington

CEO

Regulatory News

Our commitment to focusing on good consumer outcomes

We recently published a policy statement setting out our commitment to focusing on good consumer outcomes across all our work. We have identified seven outcomes of particular interest – price, quality, access, innovation, privacy, fairness and diversity – and we will ensure that all our regulatory interventions promote one or more of these.

We believe that there are many strategic and practical benefits to emphasising consumer outcomes. Regulators that focus on good outcomes are less inclined to evaluate success by looking only at whether practitioners have followed a rule or implemented a process, but instead go on to critically evaluate whether a regulatory intervention has a positive impact on client experience.

In the coming months, we will be carrying out research to benchmark aspects of the market, like the way Costs Lawyers price their services. If you would be happy to assist with this research, we would love to hear from you.

Improvements to the Costs Lawyer accreditation scheme

We have made several improvements to our scheme for accrediting Costs Lawyers to provide CPD training. These include:

  • Enhancing the Register of Accredited Costs Lawyers, so you can include details of your training expertise
  • Issuing Certificates of Accreditation
  • Developing an Accredited Costs Lawyer logo, which you can use on your website, email sign-off and elsewhere
  • Improving our audit processes to ensure the scheme remains a badge of quality

Visit our accreditation webpage for FAQs and info on how to apply to become an Accredited Costs Lawyer.

Diversity: how the Costs Lawyer profession compares

We have published a new report, Diversity in the Profession 2020, which compares diversity amongst Costs Lawyers with diversity amongst the solicitor profession and the wider population.

The report shows that our profession is outperforming the solicitor profession on some indicators of diversity, such as social mobility and disability, but there is an under-representation of other groups, including certain ethnic groups. The report also includes a summary of what we’re planning to do next to interrogate our data and create a regulatory environment that fosters diversity and inclusion.

If you’re interested in promoting diversity in the profession – whether you have a personal story to tell or not – please get in touch.

Updated guidance on practising in a foreign jurisdiction

We recently updated our Guidance Note on working as a Costs Lawyer outside England and Wales. Take a look at the guidance if you’re considering practising outside your home jurisdiction at any stage in the future.

The guidance also takes account of the Professional Qualifications Bill 2021-22, which has been introduced to implement the government’s policy on the recognition of professional qualifications following the UK’s exit from the European Union. We will keep our resources updated as the Bill progresses.

Spotlight on… good complaint handling

In this newsletter, we turn our spotlight on handling client complaints. Steve Pearson, Deputy Chief Ombudsman at the Legal Ombudsman, provides advice from the coalface on how to improve your processes and points you to some useful resources.

“A recent spot check by the CLSB of Costs Lawyer’s complaints procedures revealed that some are not up to standard, and our experience would support this. In every complaint procedure we reviewed during our interactions with lawyers we found something that wasn’t quite right.”

Read More

Up and coming…

Expect more from us shortly on:

  • Consulting on next year’s practising fee
  • A new competency framework for qualifying Costs Lawyers
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