If you have been reported to us

Our role

We are responsible for regulating you and your firm in the public interest.

The primary responsibility for ensuring compliance with regulatory obligations rests with you as a firm. From 1 February 2010 our approach is to investigate you as a firm, however, we may decide to investigate an individual where, for example, there is evidence of personal culpability.

Why you have been reported

We receive reports from many sources, including

members of the public,
the Legal Ombudsman (referring information to us, following a client complaint about poor service),
press reports,
other regulators

What we will do

We will assess any allegations or information referred to us. We may decide not to take action. Some issues are generally excluded from investigation, and there are cases in which we decide not to investigate. We may keep the information on file for future reference without further regulatory action at the time —we call this outcome "No engagement at present". If this is the case, we will notify you. In some cases, if we consider it is reasonable for those involved to remedy the position, we may issue a letter of guidance.

In some cases, we may issue a letter of advice without first contacting you—if we have complete, clear and comprehensive evidence and the regulatory risks are low. If an investigation is appropriate, we will usually write to your firm's SRA Contact, detailing our concerns and requesting your explanation. If investigating you as an individual, we will write to you directly for your explanation. We may also decide to conduct an investigation on-site.

If we decide you have breached our Principles, there are a number of possible outcomes. We will decide on the most proportionate outcome in the circumstances. Outcomes relate to the gravity of the breach and may vary depending on whether you are

a solicitor or registered European lawyer (REL),
a registered foreign lawyer (RFL),
a recognised body,
a manager of a recognised body,
an employee of a recognised body or recognised sole practitioner.

The outcomes will take account of your disciplinary history.

Your obligations

You have a duty to cooperate with us promptly and openly.
You must not try to hinder, prevent or victimise a person who is reporting you.

Outcomes – if you are a solicitor, REL, RFL or recognised body

We may decide not to investigate or take action because

the allegations do not raise issues of a breach of our Principles, or
there is no supporting evidence, or
we are already taking action.

If you have breached one or more of our Principles, we may

advise you about your conduct,
warn you about your future conduct and recover costs against you,
impose a disciplinary sanction and award costs against you,
control how you practise,
refer your conduct to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,
intervene into your practice,
enter into agreements with you (agreements are regulatory decisions made by us, the terms of which are accepted by you. They are not the equivalent of settlement of all or part of a commercial dispute).

The Legal Services Act 2007 has given us new disciplinary sanctions to rebuke and/or direct a firm and/or regulated person to pay a penalty of up to £2000. We may publish such a decision where we consider it is in the public interest to do so. If we have issued a sanction against you—that is, a rebuke or a fine—you may appeal this decision at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal under the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (Appeals and Amendment) Rules 2011 within 28 days of notification in writing of the decision. You must send us a copy of your notice of appeal and documents in support at the same time as you send the notice of appeal to the Tribunal. You may also appeal the decision to publish the decision.

These changes do not prevent or restrict our other powers. The new statutory powers are provided by S44D of the Solicitors Act 1974 and paragraph 14B of Schedule 2 to the Administration of Justice Act 1985.

The legislation requires us to have rules setting out when and how we may exercise these new powers. The rules do not apply to any matters where the act or omission giving rise to a finding occurred wholly before 1 June 2010. We use guidance to help inform us about the most appropriate outcome.

In some cases, you have a right of appeal.

Outcomes – if you are a manager or employee

If we decide you have breached our Principles, we may

withdraw approval if you are a non-lawyer manager,
impose conditions on or revoke recognition of the recognised body for which you are a manager or employee,
refuse to renew recognition of the recognised body for which you are a manager or employee,
refer your conduct to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal,
intervene into the recognised body for which you are a manager or employee,
enter into an agreement with you. (Agreements are regulatory decisions made by us, the terms of which are accepted by you. They are not the equivalent of settlement of all or part of a commercial dispute.)

Orders where a non-solicitor is "involved in a legal practice"

We can require a solicitor, REL or firm wishing to employ or remunerate you to obtain prior written permission from us. We can also make or seek an order requiring our permission be obtained before you become a manager or acquire an interest in a firm. We can do this if you have

been convicted of a criminal offence, or
been involved in misconduct relating to your involvement in a legal practice.

We will take action if we think the offence or misconduct is serious and supported by evidence.

Recovering costs from you

If we make a finding against you we have the power to recover the costs of an investigation from you.

Any person who reported you has no part in the decision to recover costs from you.

Amounts

For first-instance decisions, costs are fixed at two levels:

£600, and
£1,350.

In exceptional cases, we can decide to charge more or less than the fixed amount.

If you appeal the finding, a fixed amount of £250 may be awarded against you—if, for instance, your appeal is unsuccessful.

Cost are recoverable as a debt from you. A failure to pay may result in a disciplinary investigation.

There is no right of appeal against the amount of costs only.

Enforcing and disciplinary action

You have a duty to cooperate with us promptly and openly (Principle 7) . If you do not, we may take the following action.

We may require you to deliver relevant documents to us or provide specified information—section 44B Solicitors Act 1974. If you do not deliver the documents as directed, we may appoint an agent to collect them. If this is necessary, we will recover the costs incurred from you or your firm. These costs are recoverable from you as a debt.

In addition, we may require you to attend, at a time and place specified by us, to provide an explanation in respect of the information or documents we require from you. This is known as an investigation meeting. Chapter 10 O(10.9) of the Code of Conduct 2011 provides that you have a professional duty to comply with any notices we give in this regard.

If we consider it appropriate, we can apply to the High Court for an order requiring another person to provide the information or documents we require.

For detailed information, our policy statement (PDF, 43K) sets out the practice and processes governing these investigatory powers.

You should be aware that it is an offence for a person who knows or suspects an investigation is taking place, or likely to take place, and who

falsifies, conceals, destroys or disposes of a document they know or suspect is relevant, or
causes or permits falsification, concealment, destruction or disposal of such a document

Delivery of documents

We may require you to provide information or documents pursuant to S44B. We may require you to do this even if you are cooperating as well as you can.

If you are a solicitor, or REL and, having asked you to provide an explanation about your conduct, you either fail to do so or do not provide a satisfactory response we may give you notice that we do not regard your response, or lack of response as satisfactory. You will then become subject to regulation 3 of the SRA Practising Regulations 2011. If this happens, your application for replacement of your practising certificate or renewal or registration must be started at least 6 weeks before the replacement or renewal date. We will also have discretion to impose conditions or refuse your application.

Disciplinary sanctions

If you are a solicitor, registered European lawyer, registered foreign lawyer or recognised body, and we find you have broken a rule of conduct, the consequence for you depends upon the seriousness of the breach and our assessment of the likelihood you will do it again. We use a range of outcomes to decide on the consequences. These outcomes relate to the gravity of the breach.

In some cases, we impose disciplinary sanctions. The Legal Services Act 2007 has given us new disciplinary sanctions to rebuke and/or direct a firm and/or regulated person to pay a penalty of up to £2000. We may publish such a decision where we consider it is in the public interest to do so. These new powers do not apply to any matters where the act or omission giving rise to a finding occurred wholly before 1 June 2010. Where our new powers do not apply, any disciplinary sanction will be in the form or a reprimand or, in more serious cases, a severe reprimand.

If we have issued a sanction against you—that is, a rebuke or a fine—you may appeal this decision at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal under the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (Appeals and Amendment) Rules 2011 within 28 days of notification in writing of the decision. You must send us a copy of your notice of appeal and documents in support at the same time as you send the notice of appeal to the Tribunal. You may also appeal the decision to publish the decision.

In some cases, we do not make a final decision, but refer alleged misconduct to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). We are then responsible for prosecuting the matter before the tribunal.

Invoking the SRA's appeal procedure

Appealing a finding

Generally, you have an internal right of appeal against a decision to

warn you about your conduct,
impose a disciplinary sanction,
impose conditions on your practising certificate or registration,
refuse to grant or renew a practising certificate or renewal of registration,
impose a condition on recognition if you are a recognised body,
withdraw approval of you as a manager of a recognised body,
revoke recognition of you as a recognised body,
refuse to grant you permission to employ, remunerate, engage as a manager a person,
refuse to grant you permission to allow a person to acquire an interest in you, if you are a recognised body.

Generally, you have no internal right of appeal against a decision to

issue a letter of advice to you;
refer your conduct to the SDT (Such a decision is a decision to prosecute, not a disciplinary decision);
intervene in your practice. (A challenge to an intervention can only be brought in the High Court.);
issue directions rather than factual findings;
make you subject to regulation 3 of the SRA Practising Regulations 2011, if you are a solicitor or REL;
order you to pay the costs of an investigation.

How to appeal

If you are making an internal appeal under the Recognised Body Regulations 2009 or SRA Practising Regulations 2009, you must appeal within 28 days of receiving notification of our decision or of deemed refusal under the regulations.

If you are appealing a decision to issue a sanction or to publish a decision to issue a sanction, you can either appeal to us or to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. See Disciplinary sanctions above for more information about making an appeal to the SDT.

Appeals to the High Court are covered by regulation 9 of the Recognised Bodies Regulations 2011.

In other cases, you must lodge an appeal with us in writing within 14 days of the date of the decision letter.

Your appeal must clearly state the reasons for your disagreement with our decision.

An individual or body who has reported you has no right of appeal.

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