This month sees the arrival of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). I hope our new logo will become familiar to the profession – not as the marque of a distant authority which gets solicitors struck off the roll (though sadly that will remain necessary in the worst cases), but more as the symbol of an independent upholder of the professional values which good solicitors have striven for over the last two centuries.
But the change is more profound than a new name and logo. It is a change that takes the profession into the future with new forms of regulation, new business models and new competition. The days when solicitors could set their own rules and monitor their own performance have come to an end. In all professional fields, there has been a growing suspicion about self-regulation and the lack of safeguards for the public. Like many regulatory bodies, the lay voice has become more important. The SRA is run by a small, appointed board of 16 people – nine solicitors and seven lay members. As well as their experience of regulating other professions, the lay members bring a real consumer focus to our decision-making. I like to think that the board that I chair combines the old values of personal pride in high standards with the new values of partnership with our clients, to replace the more unhealthy aspects of professional mystique and secrecy.
