Superstores to offer legal advice

Shoppers may soon be able to get legal advice from instore lawyers during their trip to the supermarket under wide-ranging proposals put forward today.

The Lord Chancellor, Lord Irvine, has raised the prospect of solicitors linking up with accountants and other professionals to offer customers a range of " onestop shop" services.

They could also be allowed to do business in superstores or other shops under proposed changes to the Law Society code.

Lord Irvine suggested a review of the current muchcriticised watchdog system for legal services, in a move heralding the possible end of self-regulation for lawyers.

There could also be reforms of the current Queen's Counsel system for senior barristers while some aspects of the legal profession - such as conveyancing - could be opened up to non-lawyers for the first time.

The Lord Chancellor's 80-page paper, entitled In The Public Interest? was published in response to last year's report by the Office of Fair Trading giving the legal profession notice to end anticompetitive practices.

Lord Irvine said: "The Government is aware that the framework of regulation governing legal services has become a maze, with some aspects that are simply not meeting the needs of today, let alone the future. That is why we are initiating a review of the existing machinery."