The modernisation of the solicitors’ conduct rules in the form of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s (SRA’s) new Code of Conduct is all to be welcomed and heralds the arrival of the solicitors’ profession into the 21st century. The new Code, unlike its predecessor, the Professional Conduct Guide, is clear and concise. The Code provides a set of clear principles and emphasises the need for evidence of compliance. It offers detailed guidance and streamlines a variety of earlier rules and pieces of legislation into one sleek guidebook. The Code is principle and evidence-based and allows a good deal of autonomy, provided compliance is achieved.
For most firms this means a degree of flexibility in the way they comply with the conduct rules but at the same time it places greater emphasis on monitoring and evidence of compliance. The SRA wants firms to be able to respond in a way that is relevant and appropriate to their organisation but which also ensures compliance. The previous president of the Law Society, Fiona Woolf, has commended the conduct rules for their modern approach but has pointed out that this will bring greater monitoring of compliance. Unfortunately, what this probably means for the behemoths of the legal world is that their very size lays them open to greater scrutiny.
