Solicitors Regulation Authority

Solicitors Regulation Authority

Abbreviation	SRA
Formation	(2007-01-29) January 29, 2007 (age 17)
Type	Professional body
Headquarters	Birmingham, England
Region served	England and Wales
Chief Executive	Paul Philip
Main organ	Board
Affiliations	Chartered Institute of Legal Executives
Website	www.sra.org.uk

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for solicitors in England and Wales.

It is responsible for regulating the professional conduct of more than 125,000 solicitors and other authorised individuals at more than 11,000 firms, as well as those working in-house at private and public sector organisations.

The SRA, based in Birmingham with offices in London and Cardiff, is led operationally by a Chief Executive and Senior Management Team,^[1] with a Board^[2] and Board Sub-Committees^[3] providing strategic direction.^[4]

The SRA was formed in January 2007 by the Legal Services Act 2007 to act as the independent regulator of solicitors. While formally an arm of the Law Society, the SRA is a statutory creation and operationally independent of the Law Society. In a report by Sir David Clementi^[5] of all legal services in England and Wales, he recommended that professional bodies holding both regulatory and representative responsibilities should separate those roles. The government adopted this recommendation.

The Law Society remains the representative body for solicitors.

In October 2024, an investigation conducted by Carson McDowell LLP concluded that the SRA failed to act adequately, effectively and efficiently with regard to its investigation of Axiom Ince: a law firm which subsequently collapsed in 2023, with the loss of 1,400 jobs and over £60 million in client money.^[6] Insurance contributions on solicitors firms have risen by 270% to meet the costs of the resulting shortfall. The LSB has confirmed that it will initiate enforcement action against the SRA to ensure that the SRA learn appropriate lessons from this grotesque incompetence, and that such a disaster will never be repeated.^[7]