Shuman, Re Matter of the Solicitors' Admissions Regulations

The power to make a foreign lawyer’s registration subject to conditions under paragraph 2(3) of Schedule 14 to the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 is confined to the lawyer’s initial entry on the register. It does not authorise the Law Society to impose new conditions after registration has begun. The construction follows from the statutory scheme: paragraph 2 is principally concerned with entry and administrative registration, while paragraphs 12 and 13 expressly address conditions on reinstatement and revival. Headings assist construction but have limited weight. An apparent regulatory lacuna or the desirability of stronger control cannot expand the power conferred by paragraph 2(3).

Mr Michael Shuman, an attorney and member of the Texas Bar, had been registered in England as a registered foreign lawyer. Following concerns arising from his professional relationship with a solicitor and the handling of substantial sums, the Law Society’s Adjudication Panel imposed conditions on his registration.

Mr Shuman appealed to the Master of the Rolls under paragraph 14 of Schedule 14 to the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990. His only pursued ground was that the Law Society lacked jurisdiction to impose conditions after his initial registration. The Law Society had not cancelled the registration because disciplinary proceedings before the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal remained possible. The central issue was whether paragraph 2(3) authorised conditions only on initial entry or at any time during registration.

Lord Phillips MR, sitting alone, allowed the petition.

1. Construction of paragraph 2(3). The phrase permitting registration to be made subject to conditions was ambiguous. It could refer to the initial act of entry in the register or to any existing entry. The preferable construction, read in the context of the whole Schedule, was that the power applied only when a foreign lawyer was first entered on the register.
2. Statutory scheme. Paragraph 2 was principally concerned with the mechanics and administration of registration. Paragraph 2(4)(a), which dealt with alteration of existing entries, did not confer a regulatory power. The express powers to impose conditions on termination of a suspension under paragraph 12(2) and on revived registration under paragraph 13 indicated that the draftsman contemplated separate situations in which later conditions could be imposed. Those provisions strongly militated against reading paragraph 2(3) as a continuing power.
3. Constructional context. The headings of paragraph 2 and Part I were relevant aids but had limited value. The court also considered the more restricted regime for solicitors under sections 12 and 13A of the Solicitors Act 1974. Imposing conditions after a foreign lawyer had begun unrestricted practice could have a particularly severe effect, supporting a circumscribed construction.
4. Lacuna and outcome. The Schedule contained an apparent lacuna because it did not expressly provide for lifting conditions imposed at initial entry. That difficulty, and the desirability of additional regulatory powers, could not justify expanding paragraph 2(3). The conditions were therefore beyond the Law Society’s jurisdiction. The petition was allowed.

Costs were summarily assessed at £13,000 inclusive of VAT, payable within 28 days.

1. Court of Appeal (Civil Division): Allowed Mr Shuman’s appeal under paragraph 14 of Schedule 14 to the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, holding that paragraph 2(3) did not authorise the post-registration imposition of conditions. [2003] EWCA Civ 1787.
2. Law Society Adjudication Panel: Imposed conditions on Mr Shuman’s registration as a registered foreign lawyer. No separate citation is stated in the judgment.