Atkinson: SRA plans should help rebuild trust
The Law Society has advised the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) against “knee-jerk responses” in attempting to tackle the issue of ethical standards in the profession.
The society said there was “a danger in placing too much emphasis on high-profile but exceptional incidents”, such as the Post Office scandal and the question of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs).
Responding to the SRA’s draft business plan and budget for 2025/26, which said the Post Office scandal was “one of the largest ever investigations” the regulator had carried out, the society said “there is a danger in placing too much emphasis on high-profile but exceptional incidents which have led to much press and commentary on declining ethical standards within the law”.
The society said it had made this point to the Legal Services Board, which is consulting on a draft statutory statement of policy on upholding professional ethics.
“While it is essential that lessons are learned from behaviours and actions that caused serious harm to the public interest, there is a danger in over-extrapolation from highly unusual situations, which in turn can have the potential to lead to overregulation, contrary to the objectives of the Legal Services Act.
“To mitigate this risk, it is essential that the SRA continues to work closely with the profession to develop resources and initiatives that build awareness of ethical risks and the skills and culture that support strong, ethical practice.”
The society said solicitors had “raised concerns about the way in which ethics is taught and assessed” through the Solicitors Qualifying Exam, which was “critical” for future conduct.
“The SRA’s statement of solicitor competence places ethics and professional conduct at the front of its requirements, but more can be done to ensure that solicitors maintain their knowledge and skills in this area of competence.”
Elsewhere in its response, the society said the SRA “needs to ensure it focuses on its core compliance role if it is to regain public confidence and the trust of the profession it regulates”.
The independent investigation into the collapse of Axiom Ince and the LSB’s recent performance assessment of frontline regulators in March 2025 showed that the SRA faced “multiple challenges”.
This included “core regulatory activities such as shortcomings in the SRA’s authorisation, supervision, and enforcement processes”, while the review “revealed failures in how the SRA supervises high-risk firms and provides protection for client funds.”
The society said it welcomed “the SRA’s acknowledgement throughout the draft business plan that collaboration, co-operation, and collective action is needed to address many of the issues identified”.
Richard Atkinson, president of the society, commented: “It is encouraging to see the SRA acknowledge the scale of challenges it faces as an organisation.
“The SRA’s commitment to reprioritise its core functions should help rebuild public trust and confidence in the regulator and address the shortcomings which led to the LSB downgrading its performance rating.
“The change in SRA leadership presents an opportunity to turn over a new chapter and learn from the failures identified following the collapse of Axiom Ince and the SSB Group.”
The SRA has proposed an £11m increase in its budget and Mr Atkinson said this came at a time when law firms were already facing rising costs.
“We urge the SRA to ensure complete transparency on how this money will be invested and the extent to which the proposed outcomes are achieved.”
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