Financial Services Rules
These rules are relevant to solicitors who are not authorised by the Financial Services Authority and rely on the Part XX Exemption in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 to carry on certain incidental financial services for their clients. They are able to do this because the Law Society has been granted designated professional body status by H.M. Treasury.
These rules apply from 1 July 2007. The archived Financial Services Rules are available.
Solicitors' Financial Services (Scope) Rules
The Solicitors' Financial Services (Scope) Rules 2001 (PDF 78K) set out the scope of the activities which solicitors who are not authorised by the FSA, and who are unable to rely on an exclusion, can undertake under the Part XX exemption available to solicitors. These rules include a list of prohibited activities, basic conditions which must be satisfied, and other restrictions relating to particular types of activities and investments.
These rules were last amended on 1 July 2007 by technical changes due to the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 coming into force.
Solicitors' Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules
The Solicitors' Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules 2001 (PDF 66K) apply to all firms relying on the Part XX exemption and regulate the way in which they carry on exempt regulated activities. Most of the rules also apply to firms who are authorised by the FSA, in respect of their non-mainstream regulated activities.
These rules were last amended on 1 July 2007 due to the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 coming into force. The Law Society remains the designated professional body, so you must add an explanation to your terms of business or client care letters to explain this, and the associated roles of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Complaints Service.
This suggested wording is not mandatory, so alternative wording may be used, but firms must ensure that they explain the position to clients in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading.
"The Law Society is a designated professional body for the purposes of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 but responsibility for regulation and complaints handling has been separated from the Law Society's representative functions. The Solicitors Regulation Authority is the independent regulatory body of the Law Society and the Legal Complaints Service is the independent complaints handling body of the Law Society."
To link to this page, please use www.sra.org.uk/financial-services.