SRA Handbook

Eligibility criteria and fundamental requirements for recognised bodies

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Version 1 of the Handbook was published on 16/09/2011. For more information, please click 'History' Above

Rule 13: Eligibility criteria and fundamental requirements for recognised bodies

13.1

To be eligible to be a recognised body, a body must be a legal services body namely a partnership, company or LLP of which:

(a)

at least one manager is:

(i)

a solicitor with a current practising certificate issued under the SRA Practising Regulations, or

(ii)

an REL, or

(iii)

(in the case of a partnership or LLP) a body corporate which is a legally qualified body with at least one manager who is a solicitor with a current practising certificate or an REL; and

(b)

all of the managers and interest holders are legally qualified, save that where another body ("A") is a manager of or has an interest in the body, non-authorised persons are entitled to exercise, or control the exercise of, less than 10% of the voting rights in A.

Services requirement

13.2

The business of a recognised body may consist only of the provision of:

(a)

professional services of the sort provided by individuals practising as solicitors and/or lawyers of other jurisdictions; and

(b)

professional services of the sort provided by notaries public, but only if a notary public is a manager or employee of a recognised body,

but this does not prevent a recognised body providing services within Chapter 12 (Separate businesses) of the SRA Code of Conduct, or holding an interest in a company which is a separate business.

Guidance notes

(i)

Although most organisations which involve non-lawyers as managers or owners must be licensed bodies, the limited exception in Rule 13.1(b) (following the terms of the LSA) permits a small degree of non-lawyer involvement in recognised bodies. Where one or more bodies are involved in a firm as a manager or owner/interest holder, then the firm will remain a legal services body requiring recognition under the AJA, rather than a licensable body requiring a licence under the LSA, where non-authorised persons have only a de minimis (less than 10%) control by way of voting rights over each (manager/owner) body.

(ii)

The services requirement in 13.2 should be read in conjunction with Chapter 12 of the SRA Code of Conduct. Certain services which could be offered through a "permitted separate business" (see Chapter 12) can also be provided in conjunction with a firm or in-house practice whilst still complying with the services requirement in 13.2. These services, which extend or fall outside the scope of the professional services mentioned in 13.2, are:

(a)

education and training activities; and

(b)

authorship, journalism and publishing.