Solicitors Regulation Authority
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| Formation | 29 January 2007 |
|---|---|
| Type | Regulatory body |
| Purpose | Regulate solicitors in England and Wales |
| Headquarters | Birmingham, England |
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Region served
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England and Wales |
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Chief Executive
|
Paul Philip |
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Main organ
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SRA Board |
| Website | http://www.sra.org.uk |
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales.
It is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of more than 125,000 solicitors and other authorised individuals at more than 11,000 firms, as well as those working in-house at private and public sector organisations.
The SRA, based in Birmingham with an office in London, is led operationally by a Chief Executive and Senior Management Team, with a Board and Board Sub-Committees providing strategic direction.
The SRA was formed in January 2007 by the Legal Services Act 2007 to act as the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. In a report by Sir David Clementi of all legal services in England and Wales, he recommended that professional bodies holding both regulatory and representative responsibilities should separate those roles.
The Law Society remains the representative body for solicitors.
The SRA regulates solicitors, other authorised professionals and the firms they work in throughout England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland are separate legal jurisdictions and have their own regulatory regimes.
A solicitor is someone who carries out specific legal activities, having undergone specialist studies and training. These specific services are called reserved legal activities. In England and Wales, the current reserved legal activities are:
There are other regulators within England and Wales, who regulate other providers of legal services. The Bar Standards Board regulates barristers, for example, while the other regulators are:
All regulators report to the overarching Legal Services Board. Regulatory work is designed to ensure all work in legal services achieves the eight regulatory outcomes.
These are:
The SRA carries out its function by:
Creating and maintaining the Solicitors Handbook including the Code of Conduct, which contains the ethical principles that guide solicitors in their work Authorising those that want to work in the profession, including the annual renewal of Practising Certificates that represent a solicitor’s licence to practise Authorising the firms within which individuals carry out reserved legal activities Supervising firms and individuals to ensure they adhere to professional standards Taking enforcement action against those that have breached the code of conduct, to create an effective deterrent and discourage further wrongdoing in the profession. A range of sanctions are available to the SRA, including prosecuting more severe cases at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal Monitoring the quality of training both for those entering the profession and to further increase the standard of those practising within it
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