The Solicitors Regulation Authority has said its new chair is the right person to lead the organisation through further change and improvements.
Caroline Corby, who has chaired the Professional Standards Authority since 2021, will join the SRA next month to replace Anna Bradley, who is leaving after eight years in the role.
The PSA is the health equivalent of the Legal Services Board, overseeing the regulation and registration of healthcare professionals. During Corby’s tenure as chair, the PSA strengthened its oversight of healthcare regulators and accredited registers, introduced a new framework of standards for regulators and expanded engagement with stakeholders.
She joins the SRA following a tumultuous couple of years where the regulator has been heavily criticised for its response to the failures of Axiom Ince and PM Law, which have led to contributions to the compensation fund to rise steeply and calls for the chair to resign.
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SRA chief executive Sarah Rapson said Corby will bring a wealth of experience in regulation, governance and public protection. ‘I look forward to welcoming Caroline to the SRA and know she shares our ambition to ensure regulation protects the public while supporting a modern and thriving legal sector,’ said Rapson. ‘Caroline’s insight and leadership will be invaluable as we deliver our plans to become a more modern, proactive and intelligence-led regulator.’
The recruitment process was carried out by an external agency over several months with an independent selection panel chaired by senior independent board member Lisa Mayhew.
Mayhew said: ‘Caroline stood out through a highly competitive recruitment process. She combines deep regulatory expertise with a clear commitment to protecting consumers and maintaining public confidence. The panel was particularly impressed by Caroline’s experience of guiding transformation across the regulatory landscape and her steadfast commitment to protecting the public.’
Corby will begin working with the SRA on 23 November and said she wants the organisation to become an effective and trusted regulator.
She added: ‘The UK’s legal services sector is rightly seen as a global leader that supports businesses, strengthens the rule of law and drives confidence in our legal system. Strong and effective regulation is fundamental to that success, creating the conditions that drive the public’s trust in legal services.’
The work of the SRA executive is overseen by a board of ten non-executive directors and one executive director - six lay members and four solicitor members, plus an independent chair.
Corby worked in the City for 13 years, specialising in private equity, before a career break to raise her children. Since 2015, she has chaired fitness to practise hearings for several of the statutory health regulators.
As well as her role at the PSA, Caroline is the lead non-executive board member and chair of the Crown Prosecution Service. She is chair of Peabody Trust, one of the UK’s largest housing associations, and is a non-executive director of the Security Industry Authority.
Welcoming her to the SRA role, incoming Law Society president Brett Dixon, said: ‘Key priorities for the new chair of the board, who joins the SRA at a pivotal moment, will include restoring public and solicitor confidence in the regulator and implementing the directions from the Legal Services Board following the collapse of Axiom Ince, SSB Law and PM Law.
‘We have been encouraged by the SRA’s new leadership demonstrating a willingness to listen and act when they have got it wrong, and hope this will continue under the new chair of the board.’
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