The future of the SRA Handbook

Since the Legal Services Act took effect in England and Wales, the legal market has changed substantially. New entrants have bought new ideas. The profession has grown to meet that challenge, and individuals and businesses are starting to reap the rewards of increased choice. With alternative business structures (ABSs) now an accepted part of the legal landscape, it is a good time to take stock of how far we have come and how much more there is to do.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority's board did just that and, in May, set out our revised approach to regulation (www.sra.org.uk/reform). We regulate to protect current and potential users of legal services, as well as to support the rule of law and the proper administration of justice. That clarity of purpose allows us to be clear about our approach; proportionality is at the core of our regulation. The SRA's corporate strategy and annual business plan establish the detailed reforms to our regulatory approach and operational performance which will help us be a better regulator.

What does this mean for those we regulate? We have drawn out five core outcomes that flow from the Legal Services Act:

1. act with independence and integrity

2. maintain proper standards of work

3. act in the best interests of clients

4. comply with the duty to the court to act with independence in the interests of justice

5. keep client affairs confidential

If lawyers adhere to these, they are likely to make ethical decisions even in the difficult circumstances and conflicting pressures that legal services often present. Most lawyers have internalised these and they are timeless touchstones in a changing legal world.

But, does a regulatory handbook that stretches to hundreds of pages really support lawyers to live up to these principles? Is it realistic to expect young lawyers to learn and understand what is expected of them when the SRA Handbook is so long and complicated? How can senior lawyers keep up to date when the level of detail in the handbook means change is permanent? And, how do we provide stability in an ever-changing legal market?

Changing requirements

The legal market is not changing in a uniform manner. Over recent decades, it has become increasingly diverse and plural: different business models are being used to deliver different services to different clients. Sole practitioners still make up nearly a third of businesses that we regulate and more than 40 per cent of solicitors work in a handful of City law firms.

Online services are emerging. The use of technology to support a wide range of legal services is growing. In addition, the firms we regulate increasingly involve a range of other types of professionals alongside solicitors. This plurality doesn't even taken account of the huge growth in the in-house legal market. Some in-house legal departments are large enough to be included among the top-100 law firms.

What sort of handbook can cover this legal market? Our view is that, to support our new approach to regulation, we need a simpler handbook, a shorter handbook and one built upon the core professional principles set out above.

In 2015, we will start the process of reviewing the SRA Handbook. Our objective is to make it focused, relevant and accessible. It needs to be focused on our core regulatory purpose, relevant to modern practice in all of its variations and accessible to solicitors who are keen to comply with and focus more on their consumers' needs than on those of their regulator.

Our expectation is that this will be a shorter handbook than the current version. We can take some inspiration from the 1960 code, A Guide to Professional Conduct, where the practice rules totalled seven, albeit supported by accounts rules and accountants' report requirements. The rules themselves might differ - we have moved far beyond rules that secure only restrictive practices and uniform practice - but the model of simple clear rules and supporting case studies is appealing.

This new model would offer legal practices the flexibility to comply without prejudicing their commercial choices. It would allow solicitors to focus on core ethical issues rather than detailed rules. It would make it easy for people to understand what to expect from their solicitor or law firm and support the modern legal market as it grows and innovates to meet changing needs.

No new handbook will be in place before the middle of 2016. It might take longer if we are to engage widely, get the expert advice of those currently in practice and properly understand what people expect from their legal advisers. If you have ideas for these reforms we want to hear from you; email us at reform@sra.org.uk.

Crispin Passmore is executive director for policy at the Solicitors Regulation Authority (www.sra.org.uk)