The SRA Handbook is no longer in effect. It was replaced by the SRA Standards and Regulations on 25 November 2019.
SRA Handbook
Authorised bodies
Back to version 21Version 1 of the Handbook was published on 16/09/2011. For more information, please click 'History' Above
Rule 5: Authorised bodies
Practice from an office in England and Wales
- 5.1
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An authorised body may practise from an office in England and Wales in the following ways only:
- (a)
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as a stand-alone firm;
- (b)
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as a manager, member or interest holder of another authorised body;
- (c)
-
as a manager, member or interest holder of an authorised non-SRA firm, in which case you must comply with any terms and requirements imposed on that firm's authorisation; or
- (d)
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as an executor, trustee or nominee company, or a company providing company secretarial services, wholly owned and operated by another authorised body or by a recognised sole practitioner.
Practice from an office outside England and Wales
- 5.2
-
An authorised body may practise from an office outside England and Wales in the following ways only:
- (a)
-
as a stand-alone firm, provided that if any of the body's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and the office is in an Establishment Directive state other than the UK, the rules for local lawyers would permit a local lawyer to practise through a business of that composition and structure;
- (b)
-
as a manager, member or interest holder of a business which has no office in England and Wales and meets all the following conditions:
- (i)
-
the business carries on the provision of legal advice or assistance, or representation in connection with the application of the law or resolution of legal disputes;
- (ii)
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a controlling majority of the managers and the interest holders are lawyers and/or bodies corporate in which lawyers constitute a controlling majority of the managers and interest holders;
- (iii)
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if any of the business's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and any manager or interest holder is subject to the rules for local lawyers, the composition and structure of the business complies with those rules; and
- (iv)
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if any of the business's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and the office is in an Establishment Directive state other than the UK, the rules for local lawyers would permit a local lawyer to practise through a business of that composition and structure;
- (c)
-
as an executor, trustee or nominee company, or a company providing company secretarial services, wholly owned and operated by another authorised body or by a recognised sole practitioner.
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Guidance notes
- (i)
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See Part 3 of these rules for the formation and eligibility criteria for recognised bodies and licensed bodies.
- (ii)
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Authorised bodies can have a complex structure, involving multi-layered ownership. But note that a partnership cannot be a partner in another partnership which is an authorised body because a partnership does not have separate legal identity (although, as an exception, an overseas partnership with separate legal identity could be a partner in a partnership which is an authorised body).