The Act was the culmination of a series of reports and reforms that started with the Benson Commission in the 1970s, and significantly changed the way that the legal profession and court system worked.

The Act also made many minor changes to areas as varied as family law, criminal prosecutions and the distribution of costs in civil cases.

The Act has been called "[one of] the great reforming statutes of the twentieth century" and "one of the most important pieces of legislation affecting the delivery of legal services since 1949".

[1] During the 1960s the legal profession (barristers, solicitors, and certificated notaries) came under fire for what was perceived to be poor performance, the high cost of conveyancing, and its failure to deal with the needs of all levels of society.

[2] In response, the Labour government under Harold Wilson created a Royal Commission on Legal Services, known as the Benson Commission (after its chairman Sir Henry Benson), which was asked to "examine the structure, organisation, training and regulation of the legal profession and to recommend those changes that would be desirable to the interests of justice".

[2] Their fears were unfounded, however—when the report was published in 1979 it did not propose any radical changes, with one editorial describing it as "characterised by an over-anxiety not to offend the professional establishment".

[7] The government response to the Benson Committee's report was published in 1983, and established a Civil Justice Review to examine court procedure.

[6] Despite this the Law Society took no disciplinary action, allowing Davies to resign from the council on grounds of ill-health with his reputation intact.

[9] As a result of this and similar controversies, Alf Dubs introduced a private member's bill to move the responsibility of regulating the solicitors profession to a body outside the Law Society.

[12] The government introduced a consultation paper on the subject in April 1984, but in December 1985 announced that it "was not satisfied that lending institutions could safely be permitted to offer both conveyancing and a loan in the same transaction.

[14] It was well known at the time that many members of the cabinet were happy with the initial proposal, but that Lord Hailsham was determined not to let it pass and forced the government to go against its earlier suggestion.

[12] In March 1984 the Council of the Law Society of England and Wales attempted to press for full rights of audience for solicitors, something the Bar was heavily opposed to.

[15] A public debate followed, with the result being that a joint committee between the Law Society and the Bar was formed to discuss the future of the legal profession.

The three Green Papers were published by Lord Mackay in January 1989, and were titled The Work and Organisation of the Legal Profession, Conveyancing by Authorised Practitioners and Contingency Fees.

[18] The committee would have fifteen members, all appointed by the Lord Chancellor, and would be tasked with commenting on lawyers' education, training and codes of conduct.

[18] This proposal allowed solicitors to gain full rights of audience up to the House of Lords with the appropriate certification, and was widely disliked by barristers and judges.

[20] All barristers would be allowed full rights of audience as soon as they completed pupillage, as long as they comply with the code of conduct set out by the Bar.

[21] The monopoly on starting and conducting litigation would also be removed, allowing any recognised legal authority to certify its members as fit to work as an advocate.

By the time the bill passed this had been extended to 125 sections and 20 schedules spread over 201 pages, mostly due to the discovery of how complex the required reforms would really be.

The Civil Justice Review found that many cases which could easily have been settled before the hearings in court were not, primarily because there was no way of assessing the strength of the other side's arguments and their evidence.

[37] Section 11 allows the Lord Chancellor to make an order giving rights of audience to anyone in County Court cases of a certain type.

[49] Qualified people are defined as solicitors, barristers, licensed conveyancers and notaries, as well as any companies and incorporated bodies found in Section 9 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985.

[53] The Practitioners board assumes that banks, insurance companies and building societies are by definition fit to undertake such work, while other individuals and bodies undergo a more detailed vetting process.

[56] The Director General can order organisations and individuals to produce any documents relating to these applications or proposed rules, and applies Section 85 of the Fair Trading Act 1973 to his duties.

This was problematic because of the possibility of fraud and error, but the general conclusion of the report was that there was some deregulation needed, along with a single code of conduct governing all probate work.

[59] Banks, insurance companies and building societies are only allowed to take part if they sign up to a scheme for handling complaints established by the Lord Chancellor.

[63] The Ombudsman is tasked with investigating any allegation made to him about the way a complaint to a professional body such as the Law Society about one of its members has been handled.

[75] Some functions may not be delegated, such as setting rules and regulations related to the professional code of conduct, incorporated practices, the compensation fund and the indemnity requirements for practising solicitors.

[90] Section 99 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 amends this and changes the language to be permissive rather than mandatory—a referee must consult the Lord Chief Justice before he is allowed to take part.

[94] There are exceptions, however—in a magistrates' court legal aid only provides for a solicitor, because the case is so simple that it would be a waste of money to employ a barrister.