SRA Standards and Regulations

Client money and assets

You properly account to clients for any financial benefit you receive as a result of their instructions, except where they have agreed otherwise. You safeguard money and assets entrusted to you by clients and others.

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 substantially...

Compliance and business systems

You have effective governance structures, arrangements, systems and controls in place that ensure: you comply with all the SRA's regulatory arrangements, as well as with other regulatory and legislative requirements, which apply to you; your managers and employees comply with the SRA's regulatory arrangements which apply to them; your managers and interest holders and those you employ or...

Cooperation and accountability

You keep up to date with and follow the law and regulation governing the way you work. You cooperate with the SRA, other regulators, ombudsmen and those bodies with a role overseeing and supervising the delivery of, or investigating concerns in relation to, legal services. You respond promptly to the SRA and: provide full and accurate explanations, information and documentation in response to...

Service and competence

You only act for clients on instructions from the client, or from someone properly authorised to provide instructions on their behalf. If you have reason to suspect that the instructions do not represent your client's wishes, you do not act unless you have satisfied yourself that they do. However, in circumstances where you have legal authority to act notwithstanding that it is not possible to...

Client money and assets

You properly account to clients for any financial benefit you receive as a result of their instructions, except where they have agreed otherwise. You safeguard money and assets entrusted to you by clients and others.

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...

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. Any individual who is acting for a client on a matter makes the client aware of all information material to the matter of which the individual has knowledge except when: the disclosure of the information is prohibited by legal restrictions imposed in the...

Applicable standards in the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs

The following paragraphs in the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs apply to you in their entirety as though references to "you" were references to you as a firm: dispute resolution and proceedings before courts, tribunals and inquiries (2.1 to 2.7); referrals, introductions and separate businesses (5.1 to 5.3); and standards which apply when providing services to the public or a...

Third party managed accounts

You may enter into arrangements with a client to use a third party managed account for the purpose of receiving payments from or on behalf of, or making payments to or on behalf of, the client in respect of regulated services delivered by you to the client, only if: use of the account does not result in you receiving or holding the client's money; and you take reasonable steps to ensure,...