Reserved legal activities meaning

This checklist is intended to support you when applying for entry as a registered foreign lawyer (RFL), or when your firm is engaging with an RFL in practice. Please consider it carefully in conjunction with the Practice Note: Working with foreign lawyers—the registered foreign lawyer (RFL) regime. A: Determining whether a lawyer can become a registered foreign lawyer If all of the questions below are answered ‘yes’, it should be feasible for a lawyer to submit an application for registration as an RFL without difficulty. Screening question Answer/Comment Is the individual a foreign lawyer? A foreign lawyer is an individual who is not a solicitor or barrister of England and Wales, yet is a member of a legal profession that is regulated in a jurisdiction beyond England and Wales, and is entitled to practise as such within that profession. Please also see Practice Note: Working with foreign lawyers—the registered foreign lawyer (RFL) regime—Becoming a registered foreign lawyer. Yes/No Is the lawyer...

See Q&A: Does preparing a deed of surrender amount to a reserved legal activity? If it does, can a solicitor employed by a non‑authorised organisation draft such a deed? Reserved legal activities Under section 13 of the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007), only certain persons may undertake reserved legal activities: authorised by an approved legal services regulator identified in LSA 2007, Sch 4; or exempt under LSA 2007, Sch 3, which provides tailored exemptions for each reserved legal activity; or (pursuant to transitional provisions still in force) non‑commercial bodies, eg not‑for‑profit organisations and trade unions The reserved activities are listed in LSA 2007, s 12, and the scope of each is defined in LSA 2007, Sch 2...

In this issue: Prudential requirements Risk management and controls Financial crime and sanctions Consumer protection Conduct requirements Complaints, compensation and claims management Investigations, enforcement and discipline Sustainable finance and ESG Banks and mutuals Investment funds and asset management MiFID II Regulation of insurance FSMA regulated pensions activity Fintech and cryptoassets LexTalk®Financial Services: a Lexis®Nexis community Financial Services Enforcement Database Daily and weekly news alerts Intraday news alerts New and updated content Dates for your diary Prudential requirements CP2/25: PRA consults on leverage ratio threshold changes The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) has issued consultation paper CP2/25 setting out proposed revisions to leverage ratio thresholds. It plans to raise the retail deposits leverage threshold from £50bn to £70bn, aligning with nominal GDP growth since 2016. The intention is to keep major UK banks, building societies and investment firms within scope, while giving smaller firms additional...

In this issue: Probate Court of Protection Elderly and vulnerable clients UK taxes for Private Client Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance HMRC Manuals updates Tax avoidance, evasion and non-compliance Insolvency—Private Client Charity and philanthropy Pensions, insurance and tax efficient investments International Question of the week Daily and weekly news alerts LexTalk®Private Client: a Lexis+® community New and updated content Dates for your diary Trackers Latest Q&As Useful information Probate Court of Appeal rejects challenge that the deceased had not retained benefits in property and bank account trusts within section 102 of the Finance Act 1986 (Chugtai v Revenue and Customs Commissioners). The appeal concerned inheritance tax and the operation of the gifts with reservation of benefit (GROB) provisions set out in section 102 of the Finance Act 1986. The court dismissed the appeal, deciding the deceased had in fact retained a benefit in each of...

The SRA Standards and Regulations allow law firms and legal service providers to organise their businesses in several formats, depending on whether they deliver reserved legal activities. Options comprise: a single SRA-regulated entity delivering both reserved and non‑reserved services an SRA‑regulated entity delivering reserved legal services, with some or all non‑reserved work carried out by a separate, non‑SRA regulated business (which, importantly, may employ SRA‑regulated solicitors) a non‑SRA regulated entity supplying only non‑reserved legal services, employing SRA‑regulated solicitors a freelance solicitor—see Practice Note: Dealing with freelance solicitors This Practice Note offers guidance to law firms on running a separate business, including allocating parts of a client matter between the law firm and the separate business, which will entail unbundling legal services. It reflects the Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007) and the SRA Standards and Regulations, together with separate business guidance issued by the SRA. Unless stated otherwise, references in the Practice Note to: ‘solicitor’ includes Registered European...

Overview of the non-party campaigning regime Part VI of the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000 (PPERA 2000), as amended, establishes the regulatory framework for non-party campaigners in the run-up to UK and region-wide elections. Although PPERA 2000 sets a national baseline, its application can vary across the UK’s devolved administrations, and local electoral administration rules in those areas may modify or supplement the regime. In particular, amendments made by the Elections Act 2022 (EA 2022) do not extend to the Senedd or the Scottish Parliament. By way of example, EA 2022 inserted PPERA 2000, s 89A, which defines a reserved regulated period Non-party campaigners are individuals or organisations that carry out activities which could reasonably be regarded as intended to influence the result of an election under the legislation, without being candidates or political parties themselves. Under the legislation, non-party campaigners are described as ‘third parties’. The Electoral Commission oversees compliance and issues detailed guidance on the rules that apply to non-party campaigners—some guidance is generic,...

Brexit, and public procurement reform The UK’s public procurement framework stems from EU procurement rules and, as a result, was touched by the UK’s departure from the EU—though only in a limited way. In substance, procurement law in the UK has largely carried on with only minor alterations, pending the arrival of the forthcoming procurement reform. For more detail, see Practice Note: Public procurement reform. The Public Procurement (Amendment etc) (EU Exit) Regulations 2020 amended and revoked elements of procurement legislation to resolve practical issues arising from Brexit, and to ensure the system continued to function effectively once the UK had left the EU and the related transitional arrangements concluded at 11 pm on 31 December 2020 (IP completion day). Those changes formed part of the broader domestic legislative programme associated with Brexit, introduced under the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (EU(W)A 2018). Some of the amendments are nonetheless subject to overriding requirements consistent with the UK’s international commitments, for example under relevant separation provisions in the Withdrawal Agreement,...

Date: [ insert date ] Subject to contract 1 Introduction 1.1 These heads of terms set out the principal terms and conditions on, and subject to, which [ insert name of first shareholder ] (Party A) and [ insert name of second shareholder ] (Party B) are proposing to enter into and establish a joint venture arrangement to [ insert purpose of joint venture ] (the Proposed Joint Venture). Each of Party A and Party B constitutes a party, and together they comprise the parties. 1.2 The provisions contained in this document are not exhaustive and [ , with the exception of paragraphs 7.2, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12, ] are subject to contract and are not designed or intended to be legally binding upon the parties. Neither party to this document shall be legally bound to progress the Proposed Joint Venture unless and until a formal written joint venture agreement is entered into. 2 The joint venture Party A and Party B wish...