A missed opportunity - Legal Services Regulation Bill

FOUR years on from Alan Shatter’s attempts to revamp the legal profession, the Legal Services Regulation Bill is on the cusp of becoming law.

The Government’s intention is that this bill will now be enacted before the Dáil rises for the Christmas recess, so that the new Legal Services Regulatory Authority will be up and running early in 2016.

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has made more than 300 amendments to Shatter’s original proposals, leading to charges that reforms have been watered down and will do little to end restrictive practices in both branches of the legal profession.