SLCC welcomes English competition watchdog’s call for lawyers to be forced to publish fees

The Scottish Legal Complaints Commission (SLCC) has welcomed the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA)’s final report on the legal services market study for England and Wales, including imposing a requirement on providers to publish price information.

After the completion of a year-long study into the legal services sector, the CMA found that competition in legal services for individual consumers and small businesses “is not working well” south of the border.

In particular, it said there is “not enough information available on price, quality and service to help those who need legal support choose the best option”.

It has recommended, among other things, a requirement on providers to display information on price, service, redress and regulatory status for customers; facilitating the development of comparison sites and other intermediaries to allow customers to compare providers in one place by making data already collected by regulators available; and encouraging legal service providers to engage with feedback and review platforms to ensure that customers can benefit from the experience of others before making their choice.

SLCC chief executive, Neil Stevenson, said, “This report focuses on England and Wales, and we recognise there are differences in those markets. However, as we said when the study was launched, we believe any findings could also have value for the legal sector in Scotland.

“The key themes identified have potential benefits for all. Price transparency and consumer information can help grow markets, creating a strong and sustainable legal sector in Scotland. This in turn provides jobs, supports businesses and citizens, and contributes to a just society. Equally, the findings assist consumers in a market which can at times appear complex and confusing.

“We also see the value of an independent review of a sector, with new and innovative thinking, and learning shared from other sectors, which can assist the bodies delivering regulation and consumer protection within a market. There is a current Scottish government commitment to a consultation to review legal regulation, and this may be one technique that could be used as part of this important work.

“Some of the themes, such as publishing regulatory and other data to help consumers compare lawyers, have already featured in our 2016-2020 strategy and our paper on legislative change. We were pleased to have been involved as a stakeholder in the study and are now looking forward to working with the CMA on helping Scottish consumers navigate the legal services sector and ensuring a thriving and sustainable legal services market.”