New Legal Partnership Regulations commenced to allow barristers to form partnerships

What is a Legal Partnership?

A legal partnership is an agreement formed between two or more legal practitioners (either practising solicitors or practising barristers) for the provision of legal services where at least one partner in the partnership is a practising barrister.

There are two kinds of legal partnerships:

• Solicitor-barrister legal partnerships, where at least one partner is a practising solicitor and one is a practising barrister; and
• Barrister-only legal partnerships, where all partners are practising barristers.

How to become a legal partnership

A legal partnership is established through a written partnership agreement between the partners. While prior approval or authorisation from the LSRA is not required to form a legal partnership, the Authority must be notified of its intention to provide legal services as a legal partnership by completing the Legal Partnership Commencement Notification Form (at Schedule 2 Form No. 1 to the Regulations), delivering it to the Authority electronically or by post, and paying the applicable commencement notification fee.

The terms of a legal partnership's written partnership agreement are to be determined by the partners themselves and generally, the Authority will not request a copy of the agreement. However, the Authority will require confirmation that the legal partnership is established under the law of the State by written agreement between two or more legal practitioners, with at least one being a practising barrister, and that it is formed for the purpose of providing legal services. This confirmation is provided to the Authority by way of a Statutory Declaration included in the Legal Partnership Commencement Notification Form.

On receipt of the notification, the Authority will then enter the details of the legal partnership onto the online, publicly available Register of Legal Partnerships and provide the legal partnership with a unique reference number.

A legal partnership, like a partnership of solicitors, can also apply to the Authority for an authorisation to operate as a limited liability partnership and the Authority has now commenced the Limited Liability Partnerships Regulations 2024 S.I 488/2024, which have revoked the Limited Liability Partnership Regulations 2019.

Naming a Legal Partnership

There are specific rules regarding the naming of a legal partnership, designed to protect both consumers and the reputation of the legal profession. The name of a legal partnership is to only include the names of some or all of the partners (current or former) in the legal partnership. However, legal partnership can seek to use a different name, but it must apply for approval of that name from the Authority at least 28 days before it applies to become a legal partnership.

Regulation 14(3) sets out a number of considerations to be taken into account by the Authority when deciding whether to approve a different name for the legal partnership. These considerations have consumer protection and the reputation of the profession in mind and include considering whether the name has a meaning that is likely to bring the profession into disrepute, suggests that the legal partnership has superior specialist knowledge in a particular area of law or a meaning that may be misleading to clients.

Obligations of a Legal Partnership

Solicitors and barristers who form legal partnerships can provide the same legal services that they currently provide separately, under the partnership, and the same statutory rules and codes of conduct apply to the individual solicitors and barristers who are partners in the partnership.

The Regulations maintain the same requirements as regards the holding of client moneys and do not permit barristers in a legal partnership to hold client moneys and a solicitor-barrister legal partnership is required to put in place systems and controls to ensure that this does not happen.

All obligations set out in the Regulations that apply to the legal partnership also apply to each individual partner in the legal partnership, unless expressly otherwise provided under the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (the "2015 Act") or the Regulations.

Partners in a legal partnership must not interfere with the statutory obligations of a solicitor in the partnership under the Solicitors Acts, and must not interfere with the statutory obligations of another partner (solicitor or barrister) under the 2015 Act, any regulations made thereunder or their obligations as set out any relevant code of conduct or professional code. In this regard, it should be noted that the Authority are also introducing a Code of Practice of Practising Barristers pursuant to section 22 of the 2015 Act.

A client of a legal partnership is entitled to request that a practising barrister, who is not part of the legal partnership, be instructed on their behalf by a solicitor in the legal partnership. Regulation 12(2) of the Regulations provides that the client must be advised of this entitlement when a barrister is being appointed.

The Regulations do not override the circumstances where solicitors are prohibited for acting for both parties in a matter under the Solicitors Acts 1954 - 2015, but where a legal partnership can act for both parties in a matter, it may only do so, if:

• Both parties are fully informed about the proposed acceptance of instructions, and
• Each party provides consent to the acceptance of those instructions, and
• All information and communications concerning the two parties are completely segregated and safeguarded from disclosure, unless both parties agree otherwise.

As per the regulations, a legal partnership must not accept instructions in any matter where its independence, or the independence of a partner or employee, in fulfilling professional duties to a client would, or could, be compromised.

A legal partnership can publish advertisements to promote the legal services it provides, however, the advertisements must comply with the 2015 Act and the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 (Advertising) Regulations 2022.

A legal partnership is required by regulation 17 to have in place standards, procedures or policies that ensure that;

• Partners and employees comply with their statutory obligations under the 2015 Act, the regulations made thereunder, the Solicitors Acts and the regulations made thereunder.
• Partners and employees must conduct themselves professionally and ethically and in accordance with any code of conduct or professional code that applies to them.
• It transfers a client's file to another legal partnership or practitioner on request.
• It maintains;
  • A register of clients;
  • Records of each matter in which it is engaged, in compliance with data protection requirements;
  • Compliance with applicable anti-money laundering requirements.

The Authority has prepared a Legal Partnerships FAQ document for any legal practitioner considering forming a legal partnership which is available HERE.

Written by Aisling Ray and Millie McCarthy.