LSB kicks off will-writing mystery shopping research
The Legal Services Board is to roll out its first will-writing mystery shopper initiative amid a range of other investigations into core high street interests.
The Legal Services Board is to roll out its first will-writing mystery shopper initiative amid a range of other investigations into core high street interests.
The research, to be carried out by IFF Research on behalf of the LSB, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Consumer Panel and the Office of Fair Trading, is due to start with a pilot study in January. The full study would take place from February, leading to a final consultation on the project as a whole scheduled to complete in the first quarter of 2012.
Calling for expression of interest, the LSB said it was looking for 100 consumers to take part in the will-writing exercise, with 40 seeking to use a solicitor, 40 a will writer and 20 who would like to do it themselves using a paper-based or online DIY kit.
The wills will be assessed by a panel made up of solicitors and will writers, with each assessor expected to look at 20 wills and determine if they are 'fit for purpose'.
The regulation of will writing is only one of a number of concerns the LSB promises to address in its 2010/11 business plan. The super regulator is also looking at two other areas of particular concern to high street firms: referral fees and conveyancing.
The 'Regulatory excellence' section in the latest plan includes a passage on the general regulatory framework but also reiterates the LSB's commitment to investigate the referral fees market.
The LSB's current consultation on referral fees begins with the assumption that there is no need for an outright ban and advocates instead full transparency. The latest plan suggests that not much is likely to happen in the short term.
'Once we have analysed and reported on responses to our current discussion paper, we will consider what, if any, action is needed,' the board said, before adding: 'This could include asking approved regulators to assess the impact of our final assessment on their regulatory arrangements and then to report to us.'
But Victoria House appears more determined to press on with research into the heart of the high street: conveyancing. Supporting the SRA's forthcoming consultation, it said: 'We need to deepen our understanding of this area in order to assess the extent to which legal services regulation might me an appropriate vehicle though which to tackle harm and, if so, whether change is needed in either the regulatory framework and/or its application.' But it gave little in the way of specific action, saying 'in view of this, we will start a piece of work to gather and review evidence to inform further action. Based on this we will consider whether further scrutiny work is necessary.'
The SRA confirmed last week that it would initiate the research in the new year following its proposal to mortgage work for lenders from lawyers' minimum insurance terms.