SRA Standards and Regulations

Grants which may be made from the Fund

For any grant to be made out of the Fund, an applicant must satisfy the SRA that the applicant is eligible in accordance with rule 4 and (save in respect of a grant made under rule 3.4) has suffered or is likely to suffer: loss in consequence of the dishonesty of a defaulting practitioner or the employee or manager or owner of a defaulting practitioner; or loss and hardship in consequence of a...

Manner of indemnity

Such indemnity shall be provided, according to the decision of the SRA as set out in Rule 10.2, in any one or any combination of the following ways: by payment, in or towards satisfaction of the claim and/or claimant's costs and expenses, to or to the order of the claimant making the claim; by payment, in respect of the claim and/or claimant's costs and expenses and/or costs and expenses...

Confidentiality and disclosure

You keep the affairs of current and former clients confidential unless disclosure is required or permitted by law or the client consents. Where you are acting for a client on a matter, you make the client aware of all information material to the matter of which you have knowledge, except when: the disclosure of the information is prohibited by legal restrictions imposed in the interests of...

Conflict of interests

You do not act if there is an own interest conflict or a significant risk of such a conflict. You do not act in relation to a matter or a particular aspect of it if you have a conflict of interest or a significant risk of such a conflict in relation to that matter or aspect of it, unless: the clients have a substantially common interest in relation to the matter or the aspect of it, as...

Remuneration and the client's best interests

You must not: be remunerated; or remunerate or assess the performance of the firm's employees, in a way that conflicts with their duty to act in each client's best interest. In particular, you must not make any arrangement by way of remuneration, sales target or otherwise that could provide an incentive to the firm or its employees to recommend a particular contract of insurance to a client...

Annex 1: Transitional arrangements under paragraph 7(3) of Schedule 5 to the LSA

A licensable body will be eligible to be a recognised body if as at 6 October 2011, it has been recognised by the SRA under section 9 of the AJA but has an interest holder or manager that is not a lawyer or a legally qualified body. It shall continue to be treated as a recognised body for the purposes of these rules and the SRA's regulatory arrangements until: such time as it ceases to comply...

Monitoring

The SRA may require from an authorised body or any principal in an authorised body, information and evidence it may reasonably require to satisfy itself that the body has complied with these rules.

Maintenance of and contributions to the Fund

The SRA shall establish and maintain a fund for making grants in respect of claims made in accordance with these rules. Solicitors, RELs, RFLs, recognised bodies and licensed bodies must make contributions to the Fund in such amounts and at such times as may be prescribed. Any unpaid contributions may be recovered as a debt due to the SRA. The SRA may at any time: borrow for the purposes of...

Payment of interest

You account to clients or third parties for a fair sum of interest on any client money held by you on their behalf. You may by a written agreement come to a different arrangement with the client or the third party for whom the money is held as to the payment of interest, but you must provide sufficient information to enable them to give informed consent.

Compliance officers

If you are a COLP you must take all reasonable steps to: ensure compliance with the terms and conditions of your firm's authorisation; ensure compliance by your firm and its managers, employees or interest holders with the SRA's regulatory arrangements which apply to them; ensure that your firm's managers and interest holders and those they employ or contract with do not cause or...