Download Intellectual Property Regulation Board

Frequently asked questions – Head of Legal Practice and Head of Finance
and Administration
What is a Head of Legal Practice (HoLP)?
The obligations of a HoLP are set out in section 91 of the Legal Services Act (LSA):
91
Duties of Head of Legal Practice
(1)
The Head of Legal Practice of a licensed body must:
(a)
(b)
take all reasonable steps to ensure compliance with the terms of the licensed
body's licence, and
as soon as reasonably practicable, report to the licensing authority any failure to
comply with the terms of the licence.
(2)
Subsection (1) does not apply to the terms of the licence so far as they require compliance
with licensing rules made under paragraph 20 of Schedule 11 (accounts) (as to which see
section 92).
(3)
The Head of Legal Practice of a licensed body must:
(4)
(a)
take all reasonable steps to ensure that the licensed body, and any of its
employees or managers who are authorised persons in relation to an activity
which is a reserved legal activity, comply with the duties imposed by section 176,
and
(b)
as soon as reasonably practicable, report to the licensing authority such failures by
those persons to comply with those duties as may be specified in licensing rules.
The Head of Legal Practice of a licensed body must:
(a)
take all reasonable steps to ensure that non-authorised persons subject to the
duty imposed by section 90 in relation to the licensed body comply with that duty,
and
(b)
as soon as reasonably practicable, report to the licensing authority any failure by a
non-authorised person to comply with that duty.
Who is eligible to be a HoLP?
Under the LSA and IPReg’s revised Registered Bodies Regulations (subject to approval of the Legal
Services Board) any person seeking to be a HoLP of a licensable body must be a manager of the
relevant body.
Generally IPReg would expect that HoLP to be a Registered patent attorney, a Registered trade
mark attorney, or possibly a solicitor. Other categories of lawyers may also apply, and we will
determine whether they meet the criteria in the LSA.
The HoLP must also be designated by the Registered Body to be its HoLP and that designation
must be approved by IPReg pursuant to the Registered Bodies Regulations.
What factors would IPReg take into account when considering whether or not to
approve a person as a HoLP?
Firstly, an individual must meet the eligibility criteria set out above. IPReg must also be satisfied
that the person concerned is “suitable to be involved in the provision of legal services”; indicators
of the circumstances in which an individual may not be suitable are set out in Rule 14 of the
proposed Registered Bodies Regulations. In addition, IPReg would consider factors such as:

the seniority of the candidate;

their experience and qualifications relevant to holding this role, including matters such as
their experience of such roles within similar firms;

whether the candidate would have the ability to fulfil their obligations taking into
account the governance arrangements within the firm;

whether the candidate would have access to information concerning the systems and
controls of the firm;

whether the candidate is a HoLP of another firm (or is applying for approval to hold the
role at another firm) and, if so, whether they would have conflicts of interest that would
prevent their approval for holding both roles;

whether the individual has the capacity to undertake the role, given any other
commitments.
What is a Head of Finance and Administration (HoFA)?
The obligations of a HoFA are set out in section 92 LSA:
92
Duties of Head of Finance and Administration
(1)
The Head of Finance and Administration of a licensed body must take all reasonable steps
to ensure compliance with licensing rules made under paragraph 20 of Schedule 11
(accounts).
(2)
The Head of Finance and Administration must report any breach of those rules to the
licensing authority as soon as reasonably practicable.
Who is eligible to be a HoFA?
Any person seeking to be a HoFA of a licensable body must be a manager or an employee of the
relevant body.
The person must also be suitably qualified to fulfil the role of HoFA, and designated by the
Registered Body to be its HoFA and that designation must be approved by IPReg pursuant to the
Registered Bodies Regulations.
What factors would IPReg take into account when considering whether or not to
approve a person as a HoFA?
As with the HoLP, an individual must meet the eligibility criteria set out above. IPReg must also be
satisfied that the person concerned is “suitable to be involved in the provision of legal services”;
indicators of the circumstances in which an individual may not be suitable are set out in Rule 14 of
the proposed Registered Bodies Regulations. In addition, IPReg would also consider factors such
as:

the seniority of the individual;

their experience and qualifications relevant to holding this role including matters such as
their experience of such roles within similar firms;

their knowledge and understanding of the legal services market and in particular patent
and trade mark attorney firms;

whether the candidate would have access to all relevant financial information;

whether the candidate would have the ability to fulfil their obligations taking into
account the governance arrangements within the firm;

whether the candidate is a HoFA of another firm (or is applying for approval to hold the
role at another firm) and, if so, whether they would have conflicts of interest that would
prevent their approval for holding both roles;

whether the individual has the capacity to undertake the role, given any other
commitments.
Do non-ABS firms need to have a HoLP and HoFA?
Yes eventually. However this is subject to a transitional provision; non-ABSs will not need to have a
HoLP and HoFA until after the expiry of a 6 month notice, which notice will not be given before 1 st
January 2015.
Can I be both the HoLP and the HoFA in my practice?
Yes.