Lord Hunt of Wirral, chairman of the Financial Services division at national commercial law firm, Beachcroft LLP, has been appointed chairman of a Joint Committee of the House of Lords and House of Commons formed to consider and report on the draft Legal Services Bill.
The Joint Committee, consisting of six members each from the House of Commons and the House of Lords, was confirmed by Order on 22 May and will report on the draft Bill by 25 July.
The Committee has power to take evidence and to appoint specialist advisers.
The draft Bill, which was published yesterday, outlines plans to set up an independent Legal Services Board (LSB) to oversee legal bodies such as the Law Society and the Bar Council; to include claims management companies within the LSB's remit; and to allow lawyers from different professional bodies to work together on an equal basis, whilst permitting non-lawyers to become managers, owners and investors in legal practices.
Lord Hunt said: “I am delighted to be involved in such an important Bill, which will provide a framework for regulatory services, protecting the consumer and promoting competition.
"The next two months will see the Committee meeting twice a week to conduct the appropriate pre-legislative scrutiny.
"This is a unique opportunity to build a new system of regulation, to underpin a system of legal services in this country that will combine greater flexibility with professionalism and the highest standards of integrity.”
Lord Hunt was Senior Partner of Beachcroft Wansbroughs from 1996 to 2005 and became a partner in 1969.
