The government is set to force the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to change its intended approach to making public its regulatory decisions, it emerged last week.


In May, the board of the SRA agreed in principle that sanctions against solicitors which are currently private - effectively anything short of a decision of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal - should be published unless there are exceptional reasons not to.



This includes the new powers to rebuke and fine that the Legal Services Bill will give the SRA.



However, the board was told at its meeting last week that the Bill as drafted inverts the test, meaning that sanctions may only be published if the SRA is satisfied that it is in the public interest to do so. This will require a positive decision in each case.



Labour MP John Mann laid an amendment pushing the SRA's position during the Bill's committee stage in June, but minister Bridget Prentice rejected it. 'In many circumstances, it will clearly be in the public interest to publish once a fine or rebuke has been issued,' she said. 'However, I am not sure that it should be the default position for disciplinary actions of that type to be published automatically... We believe that due consideration should be given in each case.'



The board was told that there will be further attempts to persuade the Ministry of Justice, but the chances of success are thought to be low.



Meanwhile, the board approved the introduction of regulatory settlement agreements with immediate effect. They will bring regulatory investigations to an end, with the solicitor admitting any failings, and identifying both the action the solicitor has or is to take, and any sanction imposed by agreement. They will usually be made public.



The SRA has been keen to emphasise that such settlements will be made on its terms and are not comparable to settlements reached in commercial disputes.



The decision to press ahead comes despite the opposition of the Office of the Legal Services Ombudsman, which wants the SRA to define and propose the type of circumstances for which agreements would be suitable.



Neil Rose