SRA appoints expert to investigate discrimination claims

The SRA has appointed a race relations expert to investigate whether its decisions discriminate against minority firms.

A spokesman for the regulator said Professor Gus John would carry out an independent case review.

He said Professor John, chair of the equality, diversity and social mobility group of the LETR, would aim to report back by the late autumn.

According to the latest figures from the regulator, 38 per cent of solicitors subject to intervention and 31 per cent of those referred to the SDT are from BME backgrounds. Only 12 per cent of the profession comes from minority backgrounds.

However, reports on the issue by Lord Ouseley and Pearn Kandola found that the reasons behind this disproportionality were complex, and factors such as size, qualification route, experience and area of practice appeared to be decisive.

'The review will draw on a number of random cases and the evidence gathered should help the organisation respond to the recent allegation from the Society of Black Lawyers that it treats BME solicitors more harshly than their white counterparts,' Professor John said.

'The audit's focus will be around the quality of decision-making, building on the case review previously carried out by Lord Herman Ouseley which focused on whether there were clear processes in place for fair decision-making and whether these were being applied objectively and proportionately.

'BME solicitors form a significant part of the legal profession and it is essential that a regulator such as the SRA has the confidence of all its stakeholder groups and is willing to listen and address any concerns so that it can review its processes and improve them if necessary.'

Professor John said he could not 'at this stage presume what the case audit will reveal', but whatever the outcome, it showed that the SRA was responsive to the concerns of practitioner groups.

Mehrunissa Lalani, head of inclusion at the SRA, warned at the end of last year that the arrival of outcomes-focused regulation could make it harder to gather diversity data.