Accountants could undertake legal work

Chris Grayling, the Justice Secretary, is considering whether to let the ICAEW become the first non-legal body to license legal work. Vernon Soare, the institute’s executive director for professional standards, said it was “inevitable that there will be an element of competition” between accountants and law firms after the rules on legal practice were eased by the introduction of the Legal Services Act.

Mr Soare said the ICAEW will meet the Legal Services Board, to discover “how they see the lie of the land”. Last month the board recommended to Mr Grayling that the institute be allowed to licence certain types of probate work. Mr Soare said: “We’re trying to put accountants in a position where if they wish to do so, they can compete with law firms for the work that the Legal Services Act was designed to open up. We don’t see ourselves as having a mission to go head-to-head with law firms in the high street.”

The move has been met with fierce opposition by the solicitors’ professional body. The Law Society asked the Legal Services Board to reject the institute’s application to licence probate work by voicing “serious concerns” about the separation of the ICAEW’s regulatory and representative functions.

The Times, Business, Page: 37