The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) today launched a month-long targeted consultation on the draft regulatory framework for the introduction of the new legal partnerships.

The consultation, on a set of three draft regulations and a separate draft code of practice for practising barristers, is only open to responses from the Law Society, the Bar Council, the King’s Inns and individual barristers who are not members of the Law Library.

Some barristers have criticised the new legal partnership model, arguing that it would undermine the independent referral bar.

Dr Brian Doherty, chief executive of the LSRA, said: “The current targeted consultation on the draft enabling framework for legal partnerships brings us another step closer to the introduction of this new business model in 2024.

“The Authority is committed to creating a regulatory framework for legal partnerships that allows solicitors and barristers, or barristers and barristers, to form partnerships together and provide efficient and competitively priced legal services to their clients.

“We welcome the views and input of the professional bodies for solicitors and barristers, as well as the hundreds of barristers who are practising outside of the Law Library. The LSRA will consult with relevant stakeholders as it plans and prepares for the introduction of legal partnerships later this year.”

Legal partnerships will be able to apply for authorisation to operate as limited liability partnerships. New professional indemnity insurance regulations will be required for practising barristers in legal partnerships and in limited liability partnerships.

The current consultation seeks input on draft regulations on legal partnerships, limited liability partnerships and professional indemnity insurance. It also invites written submissions on a draft code of practice for practising barristers — an update on a previous draft published in 2019.