This month sees the arrival of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). I hope our new logo will become familiar to the profession — not as the marque of a distant authority which gets solicitors struck off the roll (though sadly that will remain necessary in the worst cases), but more as the symbol of an independent upholder of the professional values which good solicitors have striven for over the last two centuries.
But the change is more profound than a new name and logo. It is a change that takes the profession into the future with new forms of regulation, new business models and new competition. The days when solicitors could set their own rules and monitor their own performance have come to an end. In all professional fields, there has been a growing suspicion about self-regulation and the lack of safeguards for the public. Like many regulatory bodies, the lay voice has become more important. The SRA is run by a small, appointed board of 16 people — nine solicitors and seven lay members. As well as their experience of regulating other professions, the lay members bring a real consumer focus to our decision-making. I like to think that the board that I chair combines the old values of personal pride in high standards with the new values of partnership with our clients, to replace the more unhealthy aspects of professional mystique and secrecy.
So what you can expect from the SRA? Our regulation is going to be risk-based. Our resources will be targeted at areas where we know action is needed and we will be proportionate in our activities. We will deliver value for money. We will be establishing an early warning system to help us detect the signs of regulatory issues for firms and individuals.
Last year we introduced criminal records bureau checks for new solicitors for the first time. This year they will be followed by new character and suitability guidelines, setting out for the first time the standards expected of the profession. This kind of change illustrates that we believe that prevention is better than cure, and I am sure will be welcomed by the law-abiding majority of the profession.
This year will also see the introduction of the new Code of Conduct. The new code places great emphasis on standards of professional conduct. This is not just for the benefit of the profession — increasingly, the public wants to know what they should expect when they instruct a solicitor.
And what does the SRA expect from the profession? We need buy-in from the profession to upholding rules and standards. We have chosen to implement a strong programme of enforcement of the rules on referrals, but this has to run alongside solicitors stepping up to their responsibilities of integrity and independence. We will continue to provide the much-valued professional ethics guidance service from our Redditch offices — especially important during the introduction of the new Code of Conduct.
In addition, we need you to contribute to our consultations. Important changes are proposed in education and training. We are moving towards outcomes-based training where we can verify the skills and knowledge of our newly-qualified solicitors, rather than time served training. It is important that those of you involved in training give us the benefit of your views and experience as we set in place the standards for the next generations of solicitors.
And finally, I hope to get the chance to talk to many of you personally at the seminars, roadshows and events we plan to hold in 2007. The SRA is firmly independent of all interest groups — whether they be the profession, government, consumer organisations or commercial organisations. But the most successful kind of regulation is where the regulated and regulator work together. The SRA wishes to harness the goodwill and expertise of the profession, since that provides our best hope of achieving our goal — the public good.
Peter Williamson is chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
