Background Regulation of authorised legal businesses Section 41 – Rules for authorised legal business
111.This section requires a category 1 regulator to prepare and operate a set of rules to authorise and regulate legal businesses. For the purposes of the Act they are called, collectively, the ALB rules. The ALB rules may relate to one or more types of legal business, and some or all legal services. They must contain authorisation rules and practice rules, include provision for reconciling different sets of regulatory rules, and deal with such other matters as the Scottish Ministers may by regulations specify (but only if requested to do so by the Lord President, a category 1 regulator or the independent advisory panel of the Commission). Before making a request, the requestor must first consult each category 1 regulator, the independent advisory panel of the Commission and other persons considered appropriate) and, except where the requester is the Lord President, secure the Lord President’s agreement to the making of the request. Subsections (10) to (12) set out the documents that must accompany a request and that they must be published.
112.A regulator may amend its ALB rules with the prior approval of the Lord President. Where a regulator is making its ALB rules or making a material amendment to those rules, it must consult its members, the Competition and Markets Authority, the Commission, the independent advisory panel of the Commission, Consumer Scotland and any other persons or bodies considered appropriate.