Law firms to display all their pricing as regulations on transparency tighten

Approval that certain law firms will have to display all their pricing has been rubber stamped this week in accordance with tighter transparency regulations. 

The LSB gave CILEx Regulation approval this week to make alterations to requirements on firms that are regulated by the CRL and they will be among the first to publish price and service information for legal services provided, which was previously only applicable for conveyancing, probate and immigration services.

The pricing rules will mean that approximately 60 firms who are regulated by the CRL for publish prices and legal services provided to consumers and small businesses ‘prominent, clear and accessible format’ according to CILEx.

The regulator said of the new rules: ‘The changes will make a positive difference to consumers looking to access legal services by increasing transparency and information access.

‘A clear and uniform presentation of key information across provider websites will help consumers and small businesses to make an informed decision when selecting a legal services provider.’

Chief executive John Barwick added that the rule change, which follows a consultation earlier this year, has the backing of the firms it regulates as reported by the Law Gazette.

CRL is the first regulator to enforce transparency costs information for all consumer services.  The CRL noted in its consultation that the SRA has an option to extend price and service rules to all legal services.

Solicitors firms are currently only mandated to publish price information on conveyancing, some immigration services, unfair or wrongful dismissal claims in employment tribunals

Transparency became an issue of contention after the Competition and Markets Authority reported in 2016 that the legal services market was not working well for individual consumers and small businesses.

The CMA expressed at the time concerns that consumers could not make ‘informed choices because of a lack of information about price, service and quality’. In 2020 progress had been made but with what the CMA called ‘limited outcomes’

An evaluation of solicitor firms’ compliance last year found that just 42 per cent claimed to be publishing all the information required by the SRA.

The report has shown that scores of solicitors firms have been fined for breaching transparency rules. Actions include fixed penalty fines of £750 for first offences of failure to publish information and £1,500 for subsequent breaches.