Organization Overview
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (“SRA”) is the independent regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales purposed to, “set, promote and secure in the public interest standards of behaviour and professional performance necessary to ensure that clients receive a good service and that the rule of law is upheld.”
The organisation also provides solicitors with support and guidance on both legal and ethical issues. Additional objectives of the SRA include setting professional standards, supporting and monitoring solicitors, protecting consumers, and promoting access to justice.
The most current code of ethical guidance released by the SRA is the Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007. The SRA is currently pursuing a transition to an outcomes-focused regulation that will “concentrate on the quality of outcomes for clients while allowing firms to show compliance in ways best suited to their businesses.”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is independent from The Law Society which supports, represents and advocates on behalf of solicitors in England and Wales.
Current Status
The Solicitors Regulation Authority issued the first public statement on the ethics of legal outsourcing for England and Wales in July 2010. The statement approves of the practice of legal outsourcing as long as contingent ethical obligations are satisfied, including client disclosure.
Up until the release of this month’s public statement, the SRA had declined to offer any public ethical guidance on the obligations of firms who use legal outsourcing. The Solicitors’ Code of Conduct 2007, which provides minimal specific direction on the issues of legal outsourcing, is the primary source of ethical guidance for the recent public statement on LPO.
Based on the SRA’s regulatory role, it is expected to comment further on the issue in the future. The proposed transition to Outcomes-Focused Regulation will most likely impact any of the regulatory body’s additional ethical guidance on the practice of legal outsourcing.
Read more on current ethical positions in England and Wales…
Produced Material
The Solicitors Regulation Authority issued its first public statement on the ethics of legal outsourcing for England and Wales in July 2010.
The public statement is available in full here…
Prominent Members
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is overseen by a 16 member board of both solicitors and lay personnel.
Read more on the Solicitors Regulation Authority board members…
In the News
To date, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has not been referenced in any media publications regarding legal outsourcing.
