The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory body responsible for regulating solicitors and law firms in England and Wales. It operates as a subsidiary of the Law Society but acts independently when it comes to setting standards and enforcing rules.
As a solicitor, you're in a position of trust. Clients hand you their money, their secrets, and their legal problems. Regulation exists to protect the public by making sure you meet minimum standards of competence, ethics, and financial probity. If you fall short, the SRA has the power to investigate and sanction you.
The SRA takes a risk-based approach to regulation. Rather than prescribing detailed rules for every situation, it sets out broad Principles and outcomes, then focuses its resources on the areas of greatest risk to the public. This means you have more flexibility in how you meet your obligations, but also more responsibility to exercise good judgment.
Questions on the SRA often test whether you can identify a breach of the Principles or Codes of Conduct. The examiners love scenarios where two Principles conflict — for example, your duty to act in the client's best interests versus your duty not to mislead the court. Always start by identifying which Principles are engaged.
The SRA Principles are the fundamental tenets of ethical behaviour that all regulated persons must comply with. They form the ethical backbone of the entire regulatory framework. There are seven Principles, and they apply to everyone regulated by the SRA — solicitors, RELs, RFLs, and authorised firms.
Sometimes the Principles pull in different directions. For example, acting in your client's best interests (Principle 7) might conflict with upholding the administration of justice (Principle 1). When this happens, the SRA makes clear that Principles 1 and 2 take precedence. Your wider duties to the justice system and public confidence override your duty to any individual client.
This is a common exam trap. If a scenario asks you to choose between your client's wishes and your duty to the court, the duty to the court wins. Principles 1 and 2 (rule of law and public trust) always take priority over Principle 7 (client's best interests). Never help a client achieve an outcome that undermines the administration of justice.
Don't confuse honesty (Principle 4) with integrity (Principle 5). Honesty means not being deceitful or misleading. Integrity is broader — it means behaving ethically and in accordance with the standards expected of the profession. You can be technically honest but still lack integrity if your conduct falls below what's expected of a solicitor.
The Legal Services Act 2007 (LSA 2007) provides the overarching framework for regulating legal services in England and Wales. It created the Legal Services Board (LSB) as the oversight regulator, which supervises approved regulators like the SRA. The Act also defines the regulatory objectives that all regulators must promote.
Not just anyone can provide legal services. The Legal Services Act 2007 identifies six categories of legal work that are "reserved" — meaning only authorised persons can carry them out. If you perform a reserved activity without authorisation, you commit a criminal offence. This is the core of the regulated legal market.
| Reserved Activity | What It Covers |
|---|---|
| Rights of audience | The right to appear before and address a court, including the right to call and examine witnesses. Solicitors have rights of audience in the lower courts; higher courts require additional qualification. |
| Conduct of litigation | Issuing proceedings, entering appearances, and all steps in litigation before a court. This includes filing claim forms and defences on behalf of clients. |
| Reserved instrument activities | Preparing transfers, charges, and other instruments relating to land that must be registered at the Land Registry. Essentially, conveyancing documents. |
| Probate activities | Preparing papers on which to obtain a grant of probate or letters of administration. This covers the formal application for authority to deal with a deceased person's estate. |
| Notarial activities | Activities carried out by notaries public, such as authenticating documents for use overseas, administering oaths for foreign documents, and preparing notarial acts. |
| Administration of oaths | Administering oaths and taking affidavits, statutory declarations, and affirmations. Solicitors and commissioners for oaths can do this. |
An "authorised person" under the LSA 2007 is someone authorised by an approved regulator to carry out reserved legal activities. Solicitors authorised by the SRA are one category, but barristers (regulated by the BSB), licensed conveyancers, CILEx practitioners, and others can also be authorised for specific reserved activities.
Use the mnemonic "RCRPNA" — Rights of audience, Conduct of litigation, Reserved instruments, Probate, Notarial, Administration of oaths. Or think of it as the six things you cannot do without a licence: speak in court, run litigation, do conveyancing documents, handle probate applications, notarise documents, and swear oaths.
Most legal work is actually unreserved. Giving legal advice, drafting contracts, negotiating settlements, mediation, employment tribunal representation — none of these are reserved activities. Anyone can do them, whether or not they're a solicitor. The reserved activities are specifically and narrowly defined. Don't assume all legal work is reserved.
Solicitors aren't the only regulated legal professionals. The LSA 2007 recognises several approved regulators, each overseeing different types of legal professional. Understanding who else can provide legal services — and what they're authorised to do — is important for knowing when referrals or collaboration might be appropriate.
| Professional | Approved Regulator | Key Reserved Activities Authorised |
|---|---|---|
| Solicitors | Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) | All six reserved activities (with appropriate qualification) |
| Barristers | Bar Standards Board (BSB) | Rights of audience, conduct of litigation (if authorised), administration of oaths |
| CILEx practitioners | CILEx Regulation | Rights of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instruments, probate (depending on Fellowship level) |
| Licensed conveyancers | Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) | Reserved instrument activities, probate activities |
| Notaries | Master of the Faculties | Notarial activities, administration of oaths |
| Costs lawyers | Costs Lawyer Standards Board (CLSB) | Rights of audience (limited), conduct of litigation (limited) |
| Patent attorneys | Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) | Rights of audience and conduct of litigation in IP matters |
| Trade mark attorneys | Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg) | Rights of audience and conduct of litigation in trade mark matters |
The LSA 2007 also introduced Alternative Business Structures (ABSs), which allow non-lawyers to own or invest in law firms. These are sometimes called "Tesco law" because they opened up the market to commercial organisations. ABSs must be licensed by an approved regulator (the SRA can license ABSs) and are subject to the same regulatory requirements as traditional law firms.
The SRA Standards and Regulations came into force on 25 November 2019, replacing the previous SRA Handbook. The new framework is deliberately shorter and more principles-based. It's built around a few key documents that work together to set the standards you must meet.
An important distinction is between the Code of Conduct for Solicitors (which applies to you as an individual) and the Code of Conduct for Firms (which applies to your firm as an entity). Both you and your firm have separate regulatory obligations. If your firm breaches its Code, the firm itself can be sanctioned. If you personally breach your Code, you face individual consequences.
The SRA moved away from prescriptive rules towards broad principles and outcomes. This means exam questions often don't have a specific rule to point to — instead, you need to reason from the Principles and the spirit of the Codes. Ask yourself: "Does this conduct uphold public trust? Does it serve the client's best interests? Is it honest and has integrity?"
The Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs applies to you personally as a solicitor, wherever you work. It doesn't matter if you work in a law firm, an in-house legal department, or as a freelancer — the Code follows you. You're responsible for your own conduct at all times.
The Code covers areas including: maintaining trust and acting fairly; dispute resolution and proceedings before courts and tribunals; service and competence; client money and assets; referrals, introductions and separate businesses; and cooperation with regulators. Each area contains specific standards you must meet.
You have a mandatory duty to cooperate with the SRA and other regulators. This means responding promptly to information requests, reporting serious breaches (whether your own or others'), and not obstructing regulatory investigations. Failing to cooperate is itself a serious disciplinary matter, even if the underlying issue turns out to be minor.
The Code of Conduct for Firms places obligations on the firm itself, not just the individuals within it. The firm must have effective governance structures, effective systems and controls for monitoring compliance, and must ensure that managers and employees comply with their own regulatory obligations.
Every SRA-authorised firm must appoint a Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and a Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA). The COLP is responsible for ensuring the firm complies with its regulatory obligations. The COFA handles compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules. Both must report material failures to the SRA.
Don't assume that because your firm has a COLP, you're off the hook. You remain personally responsible for your own conduct. If you know about a serious breach at your firm and don't report it, you can be sanctioned individually — even if the COLP also failed. Individual and firm obligations run in parallel.
As a solicitor, you have certain overriding duties that take precedence over your client's instructions. The most important is your duty to the court. If your client asks you to do something that would mislead the court, you must refuse — even if that means withdrawing from the case.
You must not mislead the court or allow the court to be misled. This means you cannot make submissions you know to be false, put forward a false case, or present evidence you know to be fabricated. If your client tells you they're guilty but wants to plead not guilty, you can still act — but you cannot positively assert their innocence. You can test the prosecution's case, but you cannot put forward a false story.
If you're aware of relevant legal authority that is adverse to your client's case, you have a duty to draw it to the court's attention. You can't just ignore a case that goes against you and hope the other side doesn't find it. This might feel counterintuitive — you're essentially helping the other side — but it's essential to the proper administration of justice.
In the SQE1 exam, when you spot a conflict between duties, follow this order: (1) Identify the competing duties. (2) Remember that duties to the court and the public interest always win. (3) Try to find a solution that serves the client's interests within the boundaries of your overriding duties. (4) If no solution exists, you must decline or withdraw.
Professional indemnity insurance (PII) is compulsory for all SRA-authorised firms. It protects clients by ensuring that if you make a mistake that causes them a financial loss, there's insurance cover to compensate them. Without PII, a negligent solicitor's client might never recover their losses.
The SRA sets out SRA Minimum Terms and Conditions of professional indemnity insurance. These establish the minimum level of cover that qualifying insurers must provide. The minimum cover is currently £2 million for partnerships and LLPs (and £3 million for incorporated practices). The policy must cover all civil liability arising from private legal practice.
When a firm closes, it doesn't mean its liability ends. Claims can emerge years after the work was done. Run-off cover provides six years of insurance protection after a firm ceases practice. This is crucial because it means clients who discover problems later still have a route to compensation.
Alongside PII, the SRA maintains a Compensation Fund. This is a fund of last resort that can make grants to people who have suffered loss because of a solicitor's dishonesty or failure to account for client money. It's not the same as PII — PII covers negligence, while the Compensation Fund covers dishonesty and hardship cases where no other remedy is available.
Practising without adequate PII cover is a serious regulatory breach. If your firm's PII lapses, you must stop practising immediately. The SRA can intervene in a firm that doesn't have PII cover. In exam scenarios, if a firm's insurance has expired, the correct answer is always to stop taking on new work until cover is in place.
SRA Principle 6 requires you to act in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion. But beyond the SRA's own rules, the Equality Act 2010 imposes legal obligations on you as a service provider and as an employer. You must not discriminate against clients, employees, or anyone else on the basis of a protected characteristic.
The Act prohibits several forms of discrimination. Direct discrimination is treating someone less favourably because of a protected characteristic. Indirect discrimination occurs when a seemingly neutral provision, criterion or practice puts people with a particular protected characteristic at a disadvantage, unless it can be objectively justified.
Harassment means unwanted conduct related to a protected characteristic that has the purpose or effect of violating someone's dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. Victimisation is treating someone badly because they've made or supported a complaint about discrimination.
If you're providing legal services, you have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for disabled clients. This might mean providing documents in large print, allowing extra time for appointments, ensuring your office is wheelchair accessible, or using communication methods suited to the client's needs. The duty is anticipatory — you should plan ahead, not just react when a disabled client walks through the door.
In exam scenarios, watch for situations where a solicitor refuses to act for someone based on a protected characteristic, or where office policies have an unintended discriminatory impact. Remember that the duty to make reasonable adjustments is proactive — you don't wait to be asked. Also note that Principle 6 goes further than the Equality Act: it requires you to actively encourage equality, diversity and inclusion.
The SRA has a range of enforcement powers it can use when solicitors or firms breach their regulatory obligations. The level of sanction depends on the seriousness of the breach. Minor matters might result in a written rebuke, while serious misconduct can lead to being struck off the roll.
The SDT is an independent tribunal that hears the most serious cases of solicitor misconduct. It has the power to strike a solicitor off the roll (permanently removing their right to practise), suspend them, impose unlimited fines, and make costs orders. Appeals from the SDT go to the High Court.
When tackling SRA regulation questions in SQE1, always identify which Principle is engaged first. Then consider the specific Code provisions. Remember the hierarchy: duties to the court and public interest come before duties to the client. And never forget — the SRA's overarching purpose is to protect the public, not to protect solicitors.