The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced five new appointments to its board, two solicitors and three lay members.

The solicitors are:

  • Barry Matthews, director of legal affairs at broadcaster ITV. He qualified in the trade law team at international firm Hogan Lovells, specialising in sport and media. He has been a member of the SRA's education and training committee since 2012.

 He founded the Legal Social Mobility Partnership in 2014 to promote diversity in the legal profession.
  • 
Geoff Nicholas, partner in the dispute resolution group at international firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. Nicholas started work at Freshfields in 1985 and has spent time working in the firm’s offices in London, New York and Hong Kong. He advises international clients on regulatory risk and handles both internal and external investigations.

The lay members are: 

  • Sharon Darcy
, a council member of Which?. Darcy is a member of the UK Regulators Network Expert Advisors Panel and is one of the first lay members to be appointed to the House of Commons Committee on Standards. A qualified accountant, Darcy began her career working on value-for-money studies in the privatisation and regulation team at the National Audit Office.
  • Dame Denise Platt DBE, chair of the National AIDS Trust and a member of the General Medical Council. Platt has a background in social care and was director of social services in the London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham and a past president of the Association of Directors of Social Services.
  • Deep Sagar, a management consultant. He is chair of the National Police Chiefs Council’s audit and assurance board and has been a member of the Law Society of Scotland’s professional practice committee and the Health Professions Council. He is a past chair of the Leasehold Advisory Service.

The five will formally take up their posts in January, replacing outgoing board members Graham Chisnall, Martin Coleman, Bill Galvin, Cindy Leslie and Peter Phippen.

SRA chair Enid Rowlands, said: 'They will bring a wealth of insight, experience and expertise and I am looking forward to working with them to protect the public and set the standards for solicitors, as we reform our regulatory model.'