Law firms could be overseen by a new regulatory body under plans published yesterday.

A government commissioned report by Sir David Clementi floated the idea that bodies such as the Law Society and the Bar Council could be stripped of their regulatory powers.  Alternatively, a new regulator could oversee the work of the existing bodies.

In a shake-up of the "outdated, inflexible, over-complex and insufficiently accountable" legal profession, non-lawyers could also be allowed to open and own "legal disciplinary practices".