Considers the impact made by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 which came into force two years ago. Argues that many of the fears of the legislation throwing law firms into chaos have not materialised but some problematic issues still remain. One of the City firm's main concerns had centred on the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2001 which was created under the Act and the fact that this may affect solicitors' regular corporate activity. Some firms opted into Financial Services Authority (FSA) regulation to avoid sanction for breaching the order. It can now be seen from enforcement cases coming through that the FSA is tough but not totally unreasonable. The Law Society sees this order as an area in need of some reform but is mainly satisfied at the moment at how the new Act as a whole has worked. The organisation, Solicitors for Independent Financial Advice argues that there has been some problems for firms offering discrete financial advice. Here the new regulation has led to pressure on firms to consolidate because of the associated bureaucratic costs which are up to five times as much as under the Law Society in the old system.