FLK1 · Legal System (incl. Constitutional/Admin & EU)

Legal personnel & the judiciary

SQE1 revision notes — the key rules, leading cases and common traps for this topic, in plain English and current to 2026.

LS.10 — Legal Personnel & the Judiciary (FLK1)

Regulation of the profession

Legal Services Act 2007 is the framework. The Legal Services Board (LSB) is the oversight regulator; the front-line regulators sit under it.
Solicitors: regulated by the SRA (the independent arm of the Law Society, which is the representative body). Admission now via the SQE + qualifying work experience + character/suitability.
Barristers: regulated by the BSB (arm of the Bar Council). Bound by the cab-rank rule — must accept work in their field if available and a proper fee is offered.
Reserved legal activities (s.12 LSA 2007) may only be carried out by authorised persons: exercise of a right of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate, notarial, administration of oaths.

Rights of audience

Solicitors have automatic rights in the lower courts; higher rights require a separate qualification (solicitor-advocate).
Barristers have full rights of audience in all courts.
Legal Executives (CILEX/CILEx Regulation) can gain limited rights of audience and litigation rights.

The judiciary

Judicial Appointments Commission (JAC) selects judges on merit (Constitutional Reform Act 2005), removing the Lord Chancellor's old patronage.
The Lord Chancellor is now a Cabinet minister/Justice Secretary, no longer head of the judiciary or a Law Lord.
The Lord Chief Justice is Head of the Judiciary of England & Wales and President of the Courts.
Judicial independence: CRA 2005 s.3 imposes a duty on government to uphold it. Senior judges have security of tenure ("during good behaviour") — removable only by the monarch on an address of both Houses of Parliament.
Supreme Court: created by CRA 2005 (operating from 2009), replacing the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords — a separation-of-powers reform.

Common traps

SRA vs Law Society / BSB vs Bar Council — regulator vs representative body. Easy to flip.
The Lord Chancellor no longer heads the judiciary — that is the Lord Chief Justice.
Judges are removed by address of both Houses, not by the Lord Chancellor or PM.
The cab-rank rule applies to barristers, not solicitors.

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Two individuals run a graphic-design business as a partnership. There is no written partnership agreement. One partner contributed £80,000 of the start-up capital and the other contributed £20,000. Over the first year one partner worked full time on the business while the other worked only occasionally, and the full-time partner now argues she should receive a salary for her extra work and a larger share of the £50,000 profit to reflect her capital and effort. The other partner disagrees. The partners cannot resolve the dispute and ask how the default rules of partnership law apply. Which of the following best describes the position under the default rules?

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More Legal System (incl. Constitutional/Admin & EU) topics

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Independent SQE1 revision notes for study — not legal advice; check primary sources before relying on any point. Exam rules are set by the SRA; see the official SQE site.