The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)

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, with a Board and Board Sub-Committees providing strategic direction.

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 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.