From 1 November, the forms and fees for registration as Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) will be available to legal practitioners in Ireland.

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority, headed by Brian Doherty (pictured), has now issued the necessary regulations.

Culmination

“This is the very welcome culmination of a 20-year campaign by the Law Society and a very significant development in day-to-day practice,” the Law Society said today.

For almost two decades, the Law Society has urged the Government to introduce limited liability partnerships (LLPs) as an option for partnerships of solicitors in Ireland.

Detailed submission

More recently, in August 2018, the Law Society made a detailed submission to the LSRA, accompanied by a comprehensive set of draft regulations.

Director General Ken Murphy described it as a “significant advantage, long fought for.

“We will continue to engage with Government and the new authority to ensure that this protection is extended to sole practitioners also,” he said.

Modernising measure

The modernising measure has been available to lawyer partnerships in many other jurisdictions and now rectifies a disadvantage Irish solicitors were under until now.

Prior to this, Irish solicitors were unable to provide legal services to clients using structures other than as a sole practitioner or an unincorporated partnership.

Extensive communication

The Law Society will now begin rolling out extensive communication to the profession on the new regime including at Cluster and other CPD events.

Practitioners are pointed to Paul Keane’s excellent article on the topic in the November 2017 Gazette, the Law Society’s submission to the LSRA, and an update from the March 2019 Law Society eZine as useful guides.