Who may provide legal services in England and Wales, under whose authority, and what protection clients have when things go wrong.
The Legal Services Act 2007 draws the boundary lines that everything else in legal services regulation depends on. This chapter starts with that framework — the Legal Services Board, the approved regulators and the place of the SRA — before turning to the six reserved legal activities, who may lawfully carry them out, and the meaning of authorised and exempt persons, including the position of the litigant in person. It then covers how firms are authorised as recognised or licensed bodies and the compliance officers they must appoint, alongside practising certificates, the cab-rank rule for barristers and the limits on McKenzie Friends. Finally, it maps the routes for service and conduct complaints, the role of the Legal Ombudsman, and how the SRA Compensation Fund and professional indemnity insurance protect clients against loss.
