Advertisements for the new chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority appeared in national newspapers over the weekend. They are the first in which the regulator seeks a non-solicitor for the post, to replace Charles Plant (pictured) who is retiring.

An advertisement in The Sunday Times says the chair will ‘play a critical role in determining the strategic direction of the SRA, ensuring it is well placed to deliver its regulatory responsibilities within a challenging regulatory and market context.’

The salary is £90,000 for 100 days a year. 

According to the advertisement the successful candidate will be ‘politically astute, with a significant and successful track record of senior leadership, gained in the private or public sector, together with demonstrable experience of working with and influencing boards.’

They will have ‘an understanding of public interest regulation, together with the ability to promote an effective market in legal services’. 

The appointment will be the first since super-regulator the Legal Services Board announced last month that it is amending governance rules to require lay chairs for all legal regulatory bodies. The SRA had opposed the change.