SRA asks public for views on regulating solicitors who breach professional standards

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has launched a campaign to give the public an opportunity to say what kinds of action should be taken against solicitors whose conduct breaks the rules on professional standards.

Entitled ‘A question of trust’, the initiative will ask the public, charities and consumer representatives for their views through an online survey and voting sessions held at 28 events taking place across the country in the coming months, with the consultation running until 31 January 2016. Attendees will be asked what they think would be the appropriate response to a range of different scenarios where trust or professional standards have been breached. Meanwhile, some 10,000 solicitors have completed a survey giving their opinions on issues of trust, professional standards and their regulation, while the Legal Services Consumer Panel is also contributing its views.

Paul Philip, the SRA’s chief executive, said: "We regulate in the public interest, so it’s important that we ask the public what really matters to them when using a solicitor and what should happen when things go wrong. We want people to have their say on issues that we tackle every day. Their views will feed into our regulatory model and help us to deliver consistent decisions that meet the expectations of both the public and the profession."

To add your views to the discussion, complete the survey which is open to the general public as well as legal professionals.