Benson Commission

The Royal Commission on Legal Services, commonly known as the Benson Commission (after its chairman Sir Henry Benson) was a Royal Commission set up by the Labour government of Harold Wilson 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". The Commission and its report are seen as one of the elements that lead to the passing of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990.

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. 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". The Commission frightened legal professionals, who believed that they were likely to face severe structural changes and lose their monopolies on probate and conveyancing work.

The Commission was led by Sir Henry Benson, and also had a sub-committee looking at legal education, which was led by R.G. Dahrendorf.

The Commission's report was presented to Parliament in October 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". In particular it ruled out the possibility of partnerships between barristers. It also upheld the idea of a split profession (one with both solicitors and barristers, in contrast to a fused profession), saying that:

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