SRA consults solicitors on overhaul of regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority today launched its biggest consultation to date, on root-and-branch changes to regulation of the legal sector.
The campaign, Freedom in Practice: Better Outcomes for Consumers, will see the SRA enter a comprehensive dialogue with solicitors in England and Wales on the changes to the way they are regulated that are scheduled to take effect in October 2011.
The new regime, dubbed ‘outcomes-focused regulation (OFR)', will come into force at the same time as the introduction of alternative business structures.
The first in a series of consultations under the Freedom in Practice banner will take place in April and focus on the broad context of OFR. The second will be on the new draft regulatory handbook – including alternative business structures licensing rules and the new Code of Conduct – which will be published on 29 May.
In May and June the SRA will hold a series of roadshows around England and Wales to gauge the views of practitioners. These will be free to attend and qualify for CPD points. There will be breakout sessions at these events tailored to the needs of high-street and commercial firms.
SRA chairman Charles Plant commented: ‘Under the new regime, the SRA’s regulation will be targeted and risk-based. Firms which do the right thing will be given more discretion to deliver their business in the way that suits their clients’ needs best. But those who flout the professional principles will face tough sanctions.’
He added: ‘We want to have a new and improved relationship with firms, proportionate and focused on the right result for clients.’
The first roadshow will be held in London on 25 May.
Comments
"Consultation" is
"Consultation" is bureaucrat-speak for "you can talk but you"ll be ignored".
There is very little prospect of this being other than that.
Need to be positive in the face of change
Even if the overall outcome of the consultation is a foregone conclusion, solicitors should still participate in the process to give regulators the chance to create as fair a system as possible. It's called making the best of a bad job. No one can complian that their views were ignored if they do not make those views known.
Very few SRA consultations ever receive more than a hundred or so responses. The way to help ensure that regulations are more focused on the interests of solicitors in private practice is to take part in the process.
If the outcome is a foregone
If the outcome is a foregone conclusion, how can any participation create a fair system?
Participation will only give it a facade of respectability which is undeserved.