Welcome to the website of the Legal Services Regulatory Authority
Updates: 10 October 2018 -
Code of Practice for Practising Barristers - Consultation Notice
The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) invites submissions as part of a consultation
in accordance with s. 22(3) of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (the Act) prior to the issuance of a Code of Practice for Practising Barristers.
Both the Consultation Notice and Draft Code of Practice can be found in the Barristers area of the website.
Roll of Practising Barristers
The provisions of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 necessary for the establishment of the Roll of Practising Barristers have been commenced by the Minister for Justice & Equality. Fixed date for commencement is 29 June 2018.
The form for applying to be included on the roll and associated guidance and information notes can be found in the Barristers section of the website.
This form has been amended slightly (19 September 2018) to clarify the consent required to allow the LSRA verify the application.
The Application Form Guidance Note has been amended (10 October 2018).
Opportunities to work with the Legal Services Regulatory Authority
Would you like to work in the area of regulation of legal practitioners?
Are you interested in the development and regulation of new business models in legal services?
- Providing expert legal advice to the Chief Executive and the Authority regarding all aspects of the legislation pertaining to the statutory function of this start up Regulatory Body;
- Supervising and assisting with the drafting of any required regulations
- Supervising and assisting with drafting of Codes of Practice considered necessary;
- Managing the prosecution of offences under the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015;
- Assisting in the drafting of guidelines in relation to the resolution of complaints;
- Presentation of evidence to the Legal Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal
- Managing applications and appeals to the High Court;
- Reviewing legislation and making recommendations for future legislative changes.
Details of Legal Advisor posts available on recruitment site here.
Authority Meetings
Minutes for Authority Meeting of 28 June 2018 are now published in our Meetings section.
Corporate Governance Assurance Agreement
A Corporate Governance Assurance Agreement between the LSRA and the Department of Justice & Equality was signed on 13 July 2018 and is available in the Governance section of the website.
Section 6 - Review of the Operation of the 2015 Act
The closing date for the receipt of submissions for the Public Consultation under Section 6 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Review of the Operation of the Act) has now passed.
LSRA Appearance before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice & Equality
The Chairperson (Dr Don Thornhill) and CEO (Dr Brian Doherty) of the Legal Services Regulation Authority appeared before the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Justice & Equality on 4 July 2018.
A link to the video of the session and the official report can be found on the Oireachtas website here.
Section 6 Public Consultation - Review of the Operation of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015
The LSRA has commenced its review of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015.
The Public Consultation notice is available here. The deadline for receipt of Submissions was 27 July 2018 and the Public Consultation is now closed.
Section 34 Public Consultation and Report - This Public Consultation is now Closed!
The dedicated Section 34 review website is available here.
The report under section 34 is to be submitted to the Minister before 30 September 2018.
The LSRA has engaged Hook Tangaza Consultants to assist with the public consultation and research required for the report into legal education and training. The Hook Tangaza research team include Alison Hook and Katherine Bird of Hook Tangaza Consultants, Professor Nigel Savage of Savage Hutchinson Consulting and Professor Scott Slorach of York University.
Once the research report has been laid before the Oireachtas by the Minister for Justice and Equality, it will be made available on the LSRA website. Previous statutory reports into legal partnerships, multi-disciplinary practices and certain issues relating to barristers can be found in our Reports section.
Our 2017 Annual Report and Strategic Plan 2018-2020 are now available:
The LSRA's Annual Report for 2017 has been laid before the Oireachtas by the Minister for Justice & Equality and is now available on our website here.
The Report sets out the breadth of work completed in 2017 by the LSRA and is complemented by our First Strategic Plan for 2018-2020 which can be found here.
LSRA Protected Disclosures Report 2017:
The LSRA's Protected Disclosures Report for 2017 can be found in the Reports Section of the website here.
The LSRA's Protected Disclosures Policy and Procedures can be found in the Governance Section of the website here.
Legal Partnerships
The LSRA is currently focused on developing the framework necessary for the introduction of Legal Partnerships as required by the Legal Services Regulation Act, 2015.
The LSRA has held workshops with the Law Society, the Honorable Society of the King’s Inns and the Bar of Ireland.
The LSRA is developing draft regulations and a Code of Practice.
Professional Codes
The Law Society of Ireland has recently uploaded its professional codes to its website along with other useful information here.
The Bar of Ireland Code of Conduct can be found here and the Disciplinary Code can be found here.
Update in Detail:
A fuller update on the work of the LSRA can be found here - LSRA Update March 2018.