On 15 December, 2004, Sir David Clementi issued his highly anticipated review of the regulatory framework governing the legal profession. Among the findings of this far-reaching report is the conclusion that the restrictive nature of current business structures in the profession can no longer be justified as being in the public interest.

Most significantly for the Bar, Clementi makes two ‘facilitative’ proposals for the establishment of alternative business structures that, if implemented, would remove restrictions that have formed the cornerstones of legal practice as we know it.