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The SRA adopts a risk-based approach to regulation. It receives a huge amount of information about the firms it regulates from a number of sources including the firms themselves, clients, the media and other solicitors. The SRA will work with you to facilitate your compliance to the Principles and Codes of Conduct and may include telephone, desk-based or face to face contact, which may involve some supervision before formal enforcement action is taken.
The SRA's outcomes-focused approach enables you to decide how best to deliver legal services. You can operate systems and controls that suit your client base and type of practice. This provides you with the flexibility to choose the most appropriate way to deliver services enabling you to put clients first as long as this does not prejudice the wider public interest.
As it has limited resources its enforcement action will be proportionate and targeted. The SRA may also approach firms as the result of thematic work undertaken by the SRA, for example mortgage fraud, financial mis-selling.
Brian offers advice and assistance ranging from a full audit, where he will visit your practice for one or two days and provide a detailed report highlighting any regulatory failings, to an informal compliance checklist meeting lasting approximately 2 hours focusing on measures to be taken to ensure your SRA visit is successful.
Such checks also help to bring about changes within the practice so raising standards for the future and reducing the risk of regulatory action by the SRA.
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