The SRA has reaffirmed in its recent blog that professional ethics are fundamental to the role of a solicitor and should be front and centre of solicitors’ minds in all they do. They are essential for maintaining public trust and the proper functioning of the justice system.
Whilst the SRA acknowledges that cases where solicitors act dishonestly or without integrity are rare, high-profile failures like the Post Office Horizon scandal, described as one of the most severe miscarriages of justice in British history, have very much brought this issue into the spotlight and prompted a shift toward more proactive regulation to prevent damage before it occurs.
Key points
- As officers of the court, solicitors should never let interests, such as the outcome for their client, undermine the collective trust the public place in the profession.
- High ethical standards are the foundation for a thriving legal sector and the SRA wants to work with the profession to embed ethical conduct in all parts of a solicitor’s working life.
- The SRA Principles clearly set out ethical expectations and must be followed by all those working within SRA regulated law firms.
- Ethics aren’t always clear cut. When the Principles conflict, it can be difficult to make the “right” choice, particularly when working in high-pressure, busy working environments.
- The SRA is committed to supporting the profession to help navigate these challenges, with the assistance of various published resources, webinars and access to the Ethics helpline.
- Workplace culture is key. The SRA identifies “toxic” and unsupportive environments as significant drivers of unethical behaviour. Firms are expected to foster open cultures where ethical dilemmas can be discussed with support from leadership.
- The SRA will consult on updating its “continuing competence” requirements (indeed the consultation opened on 22/4/26 – see our separate blog here). This includes proposals for annual mandatory “structured ethical discussions” for all solicitors.
- Holding solicitors to account remains vital for the most serious cases in order to maintain the public’s trust. However, the SRA wants to take a more proactive approach to identify issues early and avoid enforcement action where possible.
- The widespread use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and the growth of the high-volume consumer claims sector are creating new ethical challenges, which the SRA needs to address.
- Later this spring, the SRA will launch a “listening exercise” to explore the factors driving unethical behaviour and determine what further support the profession needs.
It looks like we should expect a more hands-on regulator in the coming months as it works towards being more proactive and effective, and focuses on improving collaboration with the profession to drive high ethical standards. Whilst that sounds great in theory, could it start to feel a little claustrophobic? The consultation proposals certainly appear rather more prescriptive than we have perhaps been used to in recent times.