Let’s go & fly this regulatory kite…but carefully, says Mike Willis
On 6 April 2011, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) published its new Handbook, six months ahead of what it fanfares will, from next October, be “the advent of a new type of law firm, alternative business structures, and a radically new approach by the SRA to its work”. Like all regulators, its role is dual purpose:
- to steer and control behaviours by its brand projection and presence in the industry it polices; and
- to catch and discipline offenders.
Most commentators have been cautiously optimistic for the shift of focus away from proscriptive codifications, with a new Code of Conduct for solicitors confined to just 47 pages and Guidelines which invite a partnership with the profession targeted to prevent outcomes demonstrably damaging to victims, rather than censoring behaviours of unproven negativity. Most firms with proper procedures in place can hope to be able to run their businesses according to their own circumstances, without need for regulatory intervention.
Rather less has been said about the practical implications for risk measurement and accountability
