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Solicitors' regulator in discussion with minority lawyers
18 October 2007
Minority ethnic solicitors across England and Wales will be invited to take part in a series of discussions organised by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). The SRA's objective is to protect clients, while ensuring it is fair to all solicitors.
The Chief Executive of the SRA, Antony Townsend, said: "We held a meeting today, arranged by Keith Vaz MP, as a first step. It is plain that some minority ethnic solicitors do not believe that they are being treated fairly by their regulator. We are firmly opposed to all discrimination. We want to dispel any misconceptions, and harness the expertise of minority ethnic solicitors to help us understand why certain groups appear to be disproportionately involved in our regulatory procedures."
"We will only get the bottom of the issues by talking and listening to each other. These discussions will help us to do so."
"We have a common goal—a regulatory system that is fair to all solicitors and which protects the interests of their clients."
The discussions will have several purposes:
- to promote understanding of the work being undertaken by the SRA to ensure the fairness of its procedures, and to enable the SRA to take into account suggestions for improvement
- to enlist the help of minority ethnic solicitors, and solicitors generally, in improving the data available to the SRA
- to guide the direction of future initiatives, so they address the most important issues relating to minority ethnic solicitors and the interests of their clients
- to enable the SRA to design support mechanisms for all lawyers to help them avoid getting into regulatory difficulty
- to open permanent avenues of communication between black and minority ethnic solicitors, other minority groups, and their regulator