A former chair of the Council of Licensed Conveyancers and Healthwatch England was today named as the new chair of the Solicitors Regulation Authority board. Anna Bradley, who began her career with consumer watchdog Which? and is a former chief executive of the National Consumer Council, takes up her post in January. 

Current chair Enid Rowlands said that Bradley had been appointed after a rigorous and competitive process. 'She will bring both a wealth of experience and a clear commitment to regulating in the public interest to the role at what will be a key time for the legal sector.'

The appointment is for an initial period of three years. Bradley, a philosophy graduate, will be the second successive non-solicitor in the role. Her LinkedIn profile lists her skills as 'stakeholder engagement', 'policy' and 'strategy'. She is currently chair of the Zurich Financial Independent Governance Committee, non-executive director and chair of the end-user council of the New Payments Systems Regulator (NPSO) and a trustee at Age UK.

Bradley said: 'Access to legal services with the high professional standards that we all expect from solicitors and law firms is fundamental to our society and communities, never more so than at a time of change for the economy and the UK. The SRA has worked hard under Enid’s leadership to deliver a programme of reform and modernisation that will make this important sector fit for the future. I look forward to building on that good work.'