The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has proposed a streamlined route for solicitors who wish to gain higher rights of audience.

After last month dropping a plan to introduce voluntary accreditation, the SRA board has applied to the Ministry of Justice to close off the accreditation and exemption routes to higher rights from 1 January 2010.

The remaining development route will be remodelled into a single assessment process concentrating on advocacy skills. The requirements to produce a portfolio of experience and undergo training will be dropped, while it will be assumed that solicitors have adequate knowledge of rules of procedure and evidence.

The 4,500 solicitors who already have higher rights will be passported into the new system, although they will have to revalidate their qualification every five years. There will also no longer be a single ‘all proceedings’ qualification – instead solicitors will have to pass both civil and criminal assessments.

The board was told the changes would ‘remove the restrictive practices and onerous assessment regime’ of the current rules. However, the regime may be short lived. The board repeated its intention to return to voluntary accreditation in the next two to three years.

The board also voted for a change to the publicity rule to clarify that the ban on cold calling includes approaching people in the street. It follows an adjudicator’s ruling that the term ‘unsolicited visits’ did not extend to such approaches, despite long-standing Law Society/SRA advice to the contrary.