News release
Standards and Regulations resources launched
12 September 2019
- New webpage compiles support materials for different audiences
- SRA clickable logo becomes mandatory
- Online Standards and Regulations available
A new 'one stop shop' webpage providing solicitors and law firms with easy access to resources designed to help prepare for the introduction of our new Standards and Regulation on 25 November, has been launched.
Featuring a range of videos, infographics, links and guidance materials, the page focusses on key areas of change from our existing Handbook, including where the new regulations offer opportunities to work differently in the future.
Specific sections cover what the new regulations mean for individual solicitors, law firms, solicitors working outside law firms and those working inhouse.
It also reminds firms with a website that use of the SRA clickable logo will become a mandatory requirement from 25 November. First launched on a voluntary basis in December 2018, nearly half of all law firms with a website are already displaying the logo. The logo uses smart technology to confirm to website visitors that a specific firm is regulated and what this means for clients.
A trial version of the new Standards and Regulations is already available online and has been developed based on feedback from more than 2,000 solicitors. Features such as easier navigation, glossaries and contextual links throughout, will make it more user-friendly than the current SRA Handbook.
Further guidance and support materials will continue to be added to the new webpage and online Standards and Regulations over the coming months.
Paul Philip, Chief Executive of the SRA said: "The new Standards and Regulations are designed to make life easier for firms. We have removed unnecessary bureaucracy, while protecting the public and providing a clear focus on what really matters – the high professional standards that have to be at the heart of every solicitor's practice.
"These changes have been four years in the making and have benefitted from input from across the profession. We have already provided a range of resources to help with the new approach and this additional material builds on that. This is not just about compliance but helping everyone - whether working inside or outside a law firm – to understand the opportunities to work differently."
We have also confirmed that, following feedback from stakeholders, it will be using the term 'freelance solicitors' to describe individual solicitors who are working on their own, without being part of a regulated law firm or unregulated organisation.
Different rules, eligibility criteria and protection requirements, including what insurance they must provide, will apply based on whether a freelance solicitor does or does not offer reserved activities.