Publication of regulatory and disciplinary decisions

• 1.

  The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) publishes regulatory decisions when it considers it to be in the public interest to do so.

• 2.

  In developing this policy we have had regard to the principles of good regulation:

  • Proportionality
  • Accountability
  • Consistency
  • Transparency
  • Targeting
• 3.

  Publishing our regulatory decisions wherever possible is an important contribution to ensuring that what we do is transparent. It informs users of legal services, and helps others to hold us accountable by helping them to assess whether we are acting proportionately and consistently.

Decisions that may be published

• 4.

  It is not practicable to list all possible decisions that may or may not be published. In deciding whether a decision not listed in this paragraph should be disclosed, the SRA will apply the criteria set out below. Regulatory decisions that may be published include:

• Findings pursuant to section 44D of the Solicitors Act 1974 and Paragraph 14B of Schedule 2 to the Administration of Justice Act 1985 when we can legally do so;
• The imposition of conditions on practising certificates or in relation to any person we regulate when they are first imposed or materially varied (and continuing the current policy of disclosing conditions on enquiry);
• Decisions to prosecute at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) once the Tribunal has certified a prima facie case;
• Settlement Agreements¹ and Issue Agreements² unless otherwise stated in the Agreement;
• Intervention decisions³ and the legal basis for the decision;
• Decisions to revoke recognition of recognised bodies or recognised sole practitioners
• Decisions to approve the employment of people who are subject to section 43 or of struck off or suspended solicitors;
• Refusals to issue a practising certificate;
• Suspensions of practising certificate by way of bankruptcy or High Court Order

• 5.

  The nature of the decision to publish in the public interest will vary depending on the decision. Findings of misconduct pursuant to section 44D require a statutory decision to publish and the circumstances are prescribed in the SRA (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2009 and attached publication criteria. In contrast, decisions to intervene have long been published as an essential part of informing clients that their solicitor's firm has been closed down. Similarly, a referral to the SDT, once a prima facie case has been certified, will lead to a public hearing, and conditions are already publicly available to telephone enquirers. Accordingly, whilst each decision in these circumstances by a staff member at caseworker level or equivalent in the relevant unit or at adjudication as appropriate will be taken on its own merits, it is expected that decisions will be published unless such a staff member considers that one or more of the factors at paragraph 9 below would make such publication inappropriate.

• 6.

  Decisions will not generally be published when they are the subject of an outstanding internal appeal or appeal to the High Court or SDT.

• 7.

  Intervention decisions and the legal basis for the decision will generally be published even if there is an application to the High Court for the intervention notice to be withdrawn.

Criteria for publication

• 8.

  Factors which support a decision to publish include:

• The importance of transparency in the SRA's decision-making processes;
• The importance of providing information about regulatory action against solicitors to enable, for example:
• Clients or prospective clients to make informed choices about whom to instruct;
• Clients and others to decide whether behaviour of concern should be reported to the SRA;
• The need to maintain public confidence in the regulatory system by demonstrating what regulatory action is being or has been taken and why.
• 9.

  Factors which support a decision not to publish include:

  • Potential damage to the underlying purpose of a Settlement or Issue Agreement, such as where substantial redress may be provided to clients or others but there is a risk of prejudicing the position of the solicitors or others in related litigation or potential claims;
  • Inability to publish without:
  • disclosing a client's confidential or legally privileged information;
  • disclosing a solicitor's confidential medical condition or treatment;
  • prejudicing legal proceedings or legal, regulatory or disciplinary investigations;
  • a significant risk of breaching a person's rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

  These factors are not exhaustive and do not prevent the SRA from taking into account other factors that it considers to be relevant.

• 10.

  Published information will usually be limited to a short statement of the decision with brief factual details such as the basis of a finding under section 44D of the Solicitors Act 1974 and the sanction imposed, the reasons for imposition of conditions, or the basis of a referral to the SDT. Settlement and issue agreements will normally be published in full.

• 11.

  Decisions will normally be published promptly but the SRA retains discretion to publish them or parts of them at a later time. This may be necessary, for example, if an investigation or prosecution is sensitive, such as where there is a risk of prejudice to other proceedings or regulatory activity.

• 12.

  There may be exceptional circumstances in which the SRA decides that it is in the public interest that decisions or other information should be published.. For example, in relation to an investigation giving rise to significant public concern, it may be in the public interest to disclose how the investigation is progressing or that it has concluded without an adverse finding against the solicitor.

• 13.

  Information about internal decisions, such as the imposition of conditions which are not otherwise in the public domain will be removed from the SRA's website three years after publication unless the SRA considers that there are public interest reasons not to do so.

Notes

• 1. Reference to "solicitor" or "person" includes solicitors' practices , recognised bodies and recognised sole practitioners and all persons who may be affected by the SRA's decisions such as Registered European Lawyers, Registered Foreign Lawyers, employees, non-lawyer managers and unadmitted persons subjected to investigation or application pursuant to section 43 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
• 2. Reference to "investigation" includes all disciplinary and regulatory applications, investigations and prosecutions.
• 3. Reference to "SRA" in this statement includes those exercising delegated decision- making powers on its behalf.