CILEx Regulation

Consumers are increasingly shopping around when looking for legal services but remain unaware that not all legal service providers are regulated. It is important that the sector works together to promote the inherent protections that come with working with a regulated firm following robust and ethical regulatory procedures. The transparent publication of services information serves to demonstrate the benefits of regulation and communicate to consumers the importance of regulatory status alongside price considerations. 

A fundamental requirement of the legal sector must be to provide adequate information to help consumers make an informed choice when choosing a legal service provider. The provision of key information in a clear and accessible format, underpins consumer confidence and trust when using legal services and interacting with legal professionals.

The CMA’s 2016 Legal Services Market Study found that the legal services market was not working in the interests of consumers and small businesses, largely due to the lack of transparency of information about price, service and quality of legal services. Their follow-up review in 2020 found that although there had been improvements, more was required and from this the Legal Services Board developed the recommendations outlined in its Statement of policy on empowering consumers (SoP), published in April 2022. 

CILEx Regulation’s Transparency rule changes 2024

Following a consultation earlier in 2024 and subsequent approval from the LSB, CILEx Regulation (CRL) is forging ahead in implementing changes to its Transparency Rules to improve the ease and accessibility of information presented by CRL regulated firms. 

Our original rules published in 2019 applied only to CRL regulated firms providing conveyancing and probate services. Immigration services were brought within the Rules in January 2022 and CILEX-ACCA Probate firms were subject to regulations mirroring the Rules when they came under our regulation in November 2021. Under the new Rules, all CRL firms delivering all areas of legal practice to consumers and small businesses, are now required to publish information relating to:

• price/service

• complaints procedure and redress 

• Professional Indemnity Insurance

• compensation arrangements

• regulatory information 

• mix of staff

• digital logo

Expanding the rule change to all legal services, ensures areas such as immigration services being accessed by more vulnerable consumers, are also mandated. Information needs to be accessible by all, be published “prominently” and in a “clear and accessible format”.

Regulated firms displaying a prominent digital logo (or smart badge), help reassure consumers ‘at a glance’ of their regulatory status. Publication of the digital logo is now mandated for all CRL firms and under the new rules, a redesigned smart badge and verification landing page have been launched. The smart badge redesign emphasises the relevance of the live `Valid on’ date, increasing consumer awareness that a valid badge is coded and should show the current date. The redesigned verification landing page improves clarity with additional signposting to related information on the Legal Ombudsman, Legal Choices and CRL’s `Choosing a Lawyer’ webpage, containing additional information on using comparison websites, further supporting consumers shopping around for a legal services provider. 

Firms without a website are required to provide a Consumer Information Leaflet containing transparency information to be available on request (this will also be available on the CRL website via the CRL Firm Directory), allowing consumers to access transparency information without having to contact a firm and/or provide contact details. 

The benefits are clear

These improvements aim to significantly enhance the experience of consumers engaging with the legal sector. Legal service providers who embrace transparency are better positioned to meet customer expectations by demonstrating ethical compliance, building trust and offering reassurance by highlighting the protections afforded to consumers when instructing a regulated firm. Legal professionals gain a competitive edge by offering an improved client experience, leading to satisfied clients, positive reviews and increased referrals.  

Monitoring the impact of the new rules and related projects will help inform future consumer focused projects, including the use of Digital Comparison Tools (DCT’s) in the legal services market, another important tool in the consumer decision making process. This year we worked in collaboration with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Council for Licensed Conveyancers to launch a new Voluntary Code for DCTs. The code aims to ensure that tools are transparent regarding commercial relationships, provide accurate and up-to-date information on legal service providers and offer opportunities for consumers to give feedback through a fair and transparent review process. Find out more.

We continue to seek future collaboration opportunities to further improve fair and equal access to legal services information.