The Solicitors Regulation Authority has confirmed a change in status that will protect whistleblowers who report misconduct in law firms.
The regulator has officially been designated as a prescribed person under the Public Interest Disclosure Act. The change means that anyone who works for or with a regulated law firm or individual will be protected from the risk of retaliatory action from their employer if they make a report of wrongdoing.
This protection exists so long as they ‘reasonably believe’ they are acting in the public interest when making a report to the SRA. It covers not just solicitors but all law firm employees, including agency workers, and applies to events happening now, which took place in the past, or are likely to happen.
Solicitors already have a duty to report misconduct, but it is hoped the changed status for protected disclosures will embolden non-solicitors to come forward if they have concerns.
The law change also encompasses in-house counsel who may in the past have been unsure or concerned about speaking up. In-house solicitors can now make a protected disclosure about a solicitor colleague in the same organisation, or another law firm or solicitor they believe has committed wrongdoing in the course of their professional engagement with them.
Aileen Armstrong, SRA executive director for strategy and Innovation, said: ‘Serious wrongdoing and associated risks to the public sometimes only come to light when someone speaks up, but we know that the fear of damaging one’s career can mean that people are reluctant to act.
‘This designation is an important step in making sure anyone working within a law firm, not just a solicitor, feels safe and able to bring forward their concerns.’
The SRA confirmed last month it was pursuing the new status to increase confidence that wrongdoing could be safely reported.
Increasing protection for whistleblowers is hoped to be a key factor in reducing large-scale misconduct by firms or preventing an equivalent to the Post Office scandal.
Andrew Pepper-Parsons, director of policy and communications at Protect, the independent whistleblowing charity, said: ‘The SRA becoming prescribed is a positive move for both whistleblowers and whistleblowing more generally. It will reassure whistleblowers in the sector that approaching the regulator with intelligence will come with enhanced protection.
‘The annual reports from the SRA that come with being prescribed will add transparency and accountability to the whistleblowing function.’
Solicitors and other staff with any concerns about potential misconduct can make a report to the SRA via the regulator’s Red Alert helpline.
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