SRA release new standards and regulations
On the 25th November 2019, the SRA’s Handbook 2011 was replaced with the SRA’s Standards and Regulations.
The new rules are significantly shorter with the focus squarely on requiring high professional standards from both the individuals and firm’s regulated by the SRA. Underlying their introduction is a move away from the 2011 “one size fits all” approach to one that recognises the value of each solicitor’s professional judgement to ensure that standards are upheld and public protections are maintained.
The new Standards and Regulations are broken down into various sections including (but not limited to):
- SRA Principles
- a code of conduct for solicitors, REL’s and RFL’s and a separate code for firms
- authorisation of firms rules and authorisation of individuals regulations
- accounts rules
- statutory trust rules
- regulatory and disciplinary procedure rules
Despite the SRA’s assurances in the two to three year period leading up to the release of these condensed and simplified standards and regulations, that compliance with the SRA’s Handbook would result in continued compliance with the new rules, in reality there are quite a number of fairly significant changes. Amongst them are:
- a reduction from 10 overarching principles to 7
- accounts rules distilled down to 13 rules written over 7 pages from 52 rules written over 50 pages
- emphasis on the requirement to report serious concerns promptly
- need to display the SRA clickable logo on SRA regulated entities websites
- enabling new ways of working allowing:
- freelance SRA regulated solicitors to offer only non-reserved legal activities
- a solicitor to work within a non-regulated firm
- freelance SRA regulated solicitors to offer reserved legal activities
