The times they are a-changin’ and so is the concept of what being a solicitor means. Peter Williamson looks at how the process of definition will help shape the profession’s future


What does the badge of solicitor mean to the outside world? Does it reassure people that they are in the hands of a properly qualified professional or does it create concern about legal complexities, expense and delay?



It may be surprising to find that the question ‘what is a solicitor?’ is at the heart of the thinking of the organisation that regulates solicitors – the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). But we think this is the right time to be asking basic questions about what this long-established brand should mean, and what that means for solicitors’ education, training and development.



In creating our strategy for the future of the profession, we are taking into account the changing nature of the industry and what customers expect. There are now more than 100,000 practising certificate holders – nearly double the comparative figure

of ten years ago. There is increasing specialisation, with more than 50 categories of work identified. And many more solicitors are part of a big firm – almost 40% of solicitors work in 2% of firms.



As a regulator, we have to take into account the need for high-quality services across the range of practices, including in-house solicitors, who now make up nearly one-quarter of the profession.



And we have to keep in mind wider changes in society. There is a growing number of foreign lawyers who want practising rights in England and Wales. Nearly 20% of new solicitors arrive through the Qualified Lawyers Transfer Regulations.



There is a noticeable business trend for high-volume work to be channelled through lower-cost routes. Developments in information technology are speeding up transactional work – for example, the ability to make online searches at the Land Registry. And there are the growing expectations of clients – no longer are they happy to take what is given. Quite rightly, they expect choice and good value.



All these factors mean that the education, training and development of solicitors are going to have to change to keep up. Earlier this month we published important consultation documents on work-based learning and the legal practice course (LPC), along with a strategic framework covering post- as well as pre-qualification issues. I hope those of you with an interest in the future quality of the profession will take the time to read them and join the debate (see www.sra.org.uk).



We are clear that it is the outcomes of education and training that matter. We need to have tests of competence, rather than proof of time spent at various stages of learning. We want to have flexibility over the routes to qualification and career patterns so that we continue to attract diverse membership of the profession. And we want to secure consistency of standards in the qualifications, assessments and examinations recognised by the SRA.



But we do not want to impose too heavy a hand. We also see it as our role to encourage a competitive environment and will only be prescriptive where we judge there is risk. For example, we are investing more effort in the analysis of data to see whether this could provide early warning of regulatory issues. We want to be able to see trends and issues emerge – this will lead us to concentrate our monitoring resources where they are most needed.



So in seeking some answers to the ‘what is a solicitor?’ question, we are beginning to define what are the minimum standards of knowledge, skills, business acumen and competence needed at the various stages of a solicitor’s career.



Career milestones – such as admission, setting up a new practice, and becoming a ‘specialist’ – will all have their own requirements.



These are not just questions for the profession. We will need the views of consumer groups and consumers themselves, key purchasers of legal services (such as the Legal Services Commission), the judiciary and wider stakeholders such as the Financial Services Authority – all of whom, rightly, have expectations about the standards of solicitors. Their views will feed into our work on the professional development of solicitors, which is so important at all career stages if quality standards are to be achieved and sustained.



I welcome the new members to the SRA’s education and training committee, who will help us decide on these important issues. They are: Janet Grant, the director of the Centre for Education in Medicine at the Open University; Melissa Hardee, legal practice course director at the Inns of Court School of Law; Simone Higgins, legal adviser to the Office of Fair Trading; Ann Holmes, head of the School of Law at Manchester Metropolitan University; Diane Parker, partner and training principal at Atherton Godfrey solicitors; Sheree Peaple, head of the department of professional legal studies at De Montfort University; Scott Slorach, director of vocational programmes at the College of Law; and Louise Stoker, head of training at City firm Slaughter and May. Their expertise will be invaluable in solving issues and creating a profession fit for the future.



As we move into the post-Clementi world with new types of businesses offering legal services, it will become increasingly important that the public and clients know what the badge means and the standards they can expect when they choose to use a solicitor.



Peter Williamson is the chairman of the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority