The SRA should create “fitness to practice” rules to support solicitors with mental health issues, say experts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) should introduce “fitness to practice rules” covering mental health, following a High Court judgment that toxic working environments, stress and depression are not enough to stop solicitors being struck off when they have acted dishonestly, regulatory experts have said.

The High Court has struck off three solicitors found to have been dishonest by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), which had previously ruled that the three should receive suspended sanctions because it believed that mental health problems in each solicitor’s case amounted to “exceptional circumstances”. As Legal Futures reports, in two cases these problems were caused by toxic working environments and the “uncaring” culture at the firms involved.

There was no sympathy from the High Court, however, as it ruled that neither bad working conditions, pressure or stress can excuse solicitors from being struck off when they have acted dishonestly.

Experts have said that the ruling puts pressure on the SRA to address its rules to support solicitors suffering from mental or physical ill health before they act wrongly under pressure. The SRA has had the power to do this for over a decade, but has so far chosen not to exercise it.

Iain Miller, legal regulation partner at Kingsley Napley, said: “The ruling serves to highlight the need for a system to deal with health, including mental health, outside a disciplinary process. Otherwise, as happened here, cases will be run solely through the prism of disciplinary concepts such as dishonesty which are not appropriate for dealing with the underlying issues.

“The Legal Services Act gave the SRA the power to implement such a system over 10 years ago and it is in the interests of the public and the profession that they do so.”

In a statement, the legal charity LawCare said: “Mental health in the legal workplace is a leadership responsibility. We call on leaders from across the community – from regulation, education, professional bodies and practice – to work with each other and LawCare to develop best practice to improve the working culture in the law…These cases have been devastating for the solicitors involved, their firms and their clients, and may have been avoided had these lawyers been better supported in the workplace and felt able to talk about their problems.”