SRA Update
EU introduces "client care" requirements
SRA Update Issue 11 – December 2009
New "client care" requirements imposed by the European Union will oblige lawyers to provide information on their services—over and above the requirements set out in the Solicitors' Code of Conduct.
The Provision of Services Regulations 2009, due to come into force on 28 December 2009, implement the European Framework Services Directive (2006/123/EC) in the UK.
The obligations the regulations impose on legal services providers mostly duplicate the existing professional obligations of solicitors.
However, new obligations on service providers appear to include
- to make information about professional indemnity insurance available to clients (Regulation 8(1)(n)), and
- to inform clients of available "non-judicial means of dispute settlement"—that is, to provide information on the role of the Legal Complaints Service or the Office for Legal Complaints (Regulation 10).
To see the draft regulations and guidance, visit the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.