Alan Shatter (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 157:

157.In page 65, between lines 9 and 10, to insert the following:“Professional code not to prevent multi-disciplinary practices
74. No professional code shall operate to prevent a legal practitioner from providing legal services as a partner in or employee of a multi-disciplinary practice.”.

On amendment No. 157, section 74 creates a basis for multidisciplinary practices by providing that a professional code shall not prevent a legal practitioner from providing legal services as a partner or an employee of a multidisciplinary practice, MDP. This section originally was contained in section 74 of the published Bill, which also contained a number of other provisions relating to the role of the managing legal practitioner in a multidisciplinary practice. The role of the managing legal practitioner has been developed further and now is set out in section 77. It should also be noted that sections 72 and 73 of the published Bill and the definitions in Part 7 remain unchanged.
Amendments Nos. 157, 158, 167 and 168 are part of a cluster of amendments that provide a series of regulatory safeguards with regard to how legal services will be protected in MDPs and how consumers will be protected. Amendment No. 158 deals with notification of commencement and cessation. Under section 75, a multidisciplinary practice is obliged to notify the legal services regulatory authority, LSRA, of its intention to commence or cease the provision of legal services. This section is based on a similar provision in the legislation on MDPs in New South Wales and will ensure the LSRA must be informed of the existence and operation of all multidisciplinary practices in Ireland.
I will now turn to amendment No. 167 regarding the power of the authority to specify measures. Section 83 provides that the LSRA may issue directions to the managing legal practitioner or to the practice where it is satisfied that a provision of or regulations made under this Part are not being complied with.

The section also provides that the multidisciplinary partnership, MDP, or the managing legal practitioner may appeal a direction of the authority to the High Court within 21 days. In such cases the High Court may confirm the direction of the authority or revoke or vary the direction.

With regard to amendment No. 168, application to High Court to suspend or cease providing legal services, section 84 provides that the authority may apply to the High Court for an order requiring an MDP or managing legal practitioner to comply with a direction. These powers escalate up to and including seeking a direction of the High Court that the MDP sees provision of legal services.

Amendment No. 169 to section 85 now provides that the Legal Services Regulatory Authority shall make regulations with regard to the operation and management of a legal partnership or a multidisciplinary practice. As previously mentioned, the authority would engage in a public consultation process under section 86 with regard to the regulation, monitoring and operation of legal partnerships and MDPs. This consultation will feed into the exercise of the regulatory power of the new authority regarding business structures.

Effectively, what we are dealing with is the important regulatory oversight provisions which I referenced in my earlier comments with regard to MDPs to ensure that as with other structures through which legal services are currently delivered such as solicitors' practices, sole traders or partnerships, the appropriate regulatory oversight and the appropriate regulations are ultimately put in place following on from a consultative process.