Temporary emergency authorisation or approval

You are reading current version in effect from 25 November 2019
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You are reading current version in effect from 25 November 2019

Guidance

Guidance

Approval of role holders

This guidance is about how we approve persons to be managers, owners or compliance officers of firms we regulate.

How we make decisions and the criteria we apply

We are the regulator of legal services delivered by solicitors, law firms, and individuals working and holding roles within those firms in England and Wales. We use our regulatory powers to protect consumers of legal services and support the operation of the rule of law and the proper administration of justice.

Firm based authorisation

Apply for authorisation, tell us if your firm is closing, make changes to your firm

Glossary terms

authorised body

means:

  1. a body that has been authorised by the SRA to practise as a licensed body or a recognised body; or
  2. a sole practitioner's practice that has been authorised by the SRA as a recognised sole practice
sole practitioner

means a solicitor or a REL who is the sole principal in a practice (other than an incorporated practice)

solicitor

means a person who has been admitted as a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales and whose name is on the roll.

REL

means a European lawyer registered in the register of European lawyers

employee

means an individual who is:

  1. engaged under a contract of service by a person, firm or organisation or its wholly owned service company;
  2. engaged under a contract for services, made between a firm or organisation and:
    1. that individual;
    2. an employment agency; or
    3. a company which is not held out to the public as providing legal services and is wholly owned and directed by that individual, or

under which the person, firm or organisation has exclusive control over the individual's time for all or part of the individual's working week, save that:

  1. for the purposes of the SRA Financial Services (Scope) Rules, means an individual who is employed in connection with the firm's regulated financial services activities under a contract of service or under a contract for services such that he or she is held out as an employee or consultant of the firm
  2. for the purposes of the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules and the MTC, means any person other than a principal:
    1. employed or otherwise engaged in the insured firm's practice (including under a contract for services) including, without limitation, as a solicitor, lawyer, trainee solicitor or trainee lawyer, consultant, associate, locum tenens, agent, appointed person, office or clerical staff member or otherwise;
    2. seconded to work in the insured firm's practice; or
    3. seconded by the insured firm to work elsewhere,

    but does not include any person who is engaged by the insured firm under a contract for services in respect of any work where that person is required, whether under the SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules or under the rules of any other professional body, to take out or to be insured under separate professional indemnity insurance in respect of that work

and the term "employer" is to be construed accordingly

compliance officer

is a reference to a body's COLP or its COFA

COLP

means compliance officer for legal practice and in relation to a licensable body is a reference to its HOLP

COFA

means a compliance officer for finance and administration and in relation to a licensable body is a reference to its HOFA

SRA

means the Solicitors Regulation Authority

manager

means:

  1. the sole principal in a recognised sole practice;
  2. a member of a LLP;
  3. a director of a company;
  4. a partner in a partnership; or
  5. in relation to any other body, a member of its governing body
regulatory arrangements

has the meaning given to it by section 21 of the LSA