Regulatory Update September 2025

James Price

Hello everyone, and welcome to our September 2025 Regulatory Update. In today’s session, we’ll be covering several key developments that will be of interest to legal service providers. We’ll start with the Legal Ombudsman’s consultation on case fees, move on to their new guidance on remedies, then take a look at the Legal Services Board’s focus on economic crime, and finally review the latest consultations from the Information Commissioner’s Office on data protection.

James Price

We’re going to start by looking at the Legal Ombudsman’s consultation on case fees. The Legal Ombudsman has published a consultation reviewing the current case fees that service providers are charged. They are proposing to increase the case fee from four hundred pounds to six hundred pounds. Originally, they considered increasing the fee to eight hundred pounds, but decided this would create too heavy a financial burden for firms at this stage. Another proposal which is not going ahead at the moment was to charge an exceptional case fee of one thousand pounds for Ombudsman determinations, and to use that as a standard fee in situations where a single firm is generating a large number of complaints. While that particular proposal is not being pursued right now, the Ombudsman has made it clear that they may revisit ideas like this in the future and, if so, would issue a new consultation. For now, the consultation is simply focused on the increase from four hundred pounds to six hundred pounds. This consultation runs until the 10th of September 2025, and you can find full details online.

James Price

Moving on now to the Legal Ombudsman’s guidance on remedies. Alongside the consultation on fees, the Ombudsman has also published new guidance on complaint remedies. This sets out the different types of remedies that may be considered in response to complaints, depending on the circumstances, and explains what the Ombudsman might regard as appropriate in different scenarios. For those looking for additional support in this area, Datalaw currently has a webinar available which explores how to develop a costs and charging policy. That session includes advice on complaint policy commitments and firm-wide solutions to common service issues. You can access the webinar online.

James Price

Let’s turn now to economic crime. The Legal Services Board, which is the oversight regulator for the SRA and other professional regulators, has recently published guidance on tackling economic crime. This guidance makes clear what the Board expects from regulators over the coming years. In practice, we can expect to see regulators carrying out more risk assessments and thematic reviews that go beyond money laundering alone, and that address wider forms of economic crime. The emphasis will be on raising awareness, building understanding, and strengthening prevention efforts across the sector.

James Price

And finally, let’s take a look at data protection. The Information Commissioner’s Office has launched two important consultations following the passing of the Data Use and Access Act 2025. This Act will come into force both directly and through further regulations, and the ICO is beginning to shape how it will be implemented. The first consultation looks at a new category of processing called “Recognised Legitimate Interests.” This is intended to clarify when organisations can process data without needing explicit consent. The second consultation concerns the ICO’s approach to handling data protection complaints, and what kind of policy framework should be adopted. Both consultations are open until mid to late October, and further details are available online. For additional background, Datalaw already has a webinar available which discusses the Data Use and Access Bill 2025 in detail. That was recorded back in January this year. And looking ahead, our Autumn Update webinar on the 3rd of October will also be covering the provisions of the Act, forthcoming regulations, and the ongoing ICO consultations. More information about that webinar is available on our website.

James Price

That brings us to the end of this month’s Regulatory Update. We’ve looked at the Legal Ombudsman’s consultation on case fees, their new guidance on remedies, the Legal Services Board’s expectations around economic crime, and the ICO’s latest consultations on data protection. As always, these changes and consultations represent ongoing developments that firms should keep under review. We’ll continue to monitor the updates as they progress and provide further guidance in future sessions. Thank you for listening.