PPR applauds the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation

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Rita Leat, Managing Director of the Professional Paralegal Register (PPR) has given Rita Leat, Managing Director of the PPRpraise to Professor Stephen Mason for undertaking the Independent Review of Legal Services Regulation.

The current system of regulation via the approved regulators under the Legal Services Board is at best confusing and at worst detrimental for consumers to enable them to understand where to turn for redress when things go wrong.

There has been a strong argument to suggest that one super regulator such as the LSB should be formed that would help consumers to access redress quicker and more simply, with one set of regulations that cover all providers of Legal Services. This of course is not something that has been received well by individual regulators who wish to keep their set of regulations as being specific to job titles. But is this the right approach?

Regulation of the services (where needed) makes better sense to ensure that only those high-risk matters are indeed regulated. This would better enable professional bodies to regulate conduct only with no overlap with the regulation applied to certain services.

From the unregulated sector, the PPR has risen to provide an overarching voluntary regulatory scheme for all those who would otherwise remain unregulated. Regulation here covers all job titles as there are no real differences in the requirements for professional practice no matter what your job title is.

The PPR, similar to Cilex, operate a two-tier approach to regulation. Recognised Bodies of the PPR handle first Tier complaints which can then be escalated to the PPR as an independent regulator operating an arbitration scheme.

As the leading authority and regulatory scheme for Paralegals we enable individuals to practice specific services only which makes it transparent for consumers.

The PPR who recently held the first National Paralegal Awards with 200 attending across the sector, are determined to rid the legal services market of self-regulatory schemes that offer no protection for consumers who are left to pick up the pieces of an unsatisfactory service.

Kate Hoey, MP recently said ‘regulation by membership bodies is not regulation at all as it does not offer real redress for consumers’. Kate Hoey is a Patron of the PPR and advocates that all Paralegals should join the PPR. No other form of ‘self-regulation’ is recognised by the PPR.

The PPR welcomes the report next year and continues to strive to ensure that consumers are put at the heart of all regulatory decisions.

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