SRA Principles Flashcards
What is the purpose of the SRA Principles?
They set out the fundamental requirements which all individuals and firms regulated by the SRA must satisfy
Breaches may constitute professional misconduct
What are the 7 SRA Principles?
Solicitors must act:
(1) in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the
proper administration of justice;
(2) in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons;
(3) with independence;
(4) with honesty;
(5) with integrity;
(6) in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion;
(7) in the best interests of each client
When may one of the Principles supersede another?
Wider public interest takes precedence over duties to individual clients
As such, rule of law and upholding public confidence in profession are more significant
Give details of the principle of upholding rule of law and proper administration of justice
Committing a criminal offence would breach this
Misleading the court is a serious breach of this principle
Give details of the principle of upholding public confidence in the profession
Clients must trust the profession, as they hand over money or assets for safekeeping or disclose personal, or commercially sensitive, information
Protecting the reputation of the profession is a key aspect of the SRA’s role
Sending derogatory emails to the other side or making offensive social media posts personally will both likely breach Principle 2
Give details of the principle of acting with independence
Acting where there is a conflict of interest would breach this
Give details of the principle of acting with honesty
- Very important principle and breaches are likely to result in a solicitor being struck off
- Applies to private life too
- The SRA employs a two-part test to determine if a solicitor’s conduct was dishonest:
(1) What was the solicitor’s genuine knowledge or belief as to the facts at the time?
There is no requirement for the belief to have been objectively reasonable. However, reasonableness or how other solicitors may have acted can be an indicator of whether the belief was genuine.
(2) In view of the solicitor’s knowledge or belief at the time, was their conduct dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people?
This is an objective test. There is no requirement that the solicitor knew or understood that their behaviour was dishonest.
Give details of the principle of acting with integrity
Wider in scope than dishonesty, meaning integrity can be lacking without a solicitor being dishonest
Assessed on a case-by-case basis but can include taking unfair advantage of clients, misleading clients or displaying a wilful or reckless disregard for rules, legal requirements and ethics
Principle is applicable to private life where the conduct touches realistically on the individual’s practice of the profession
Give details of the principle of encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion
Solicitors must obviously comply with Equality Act 2010, but they are also subject to a positive requirement to ensure that their actions encourage EDI
- Equality – treating people fairly ensuring equal opportunities and not discriminating because of an individual’s characteristics;
- Diversity – encouraging and valuing people with a broad range of different backgrounds, knowledge, skills and experiences; understanding and respecting these individual differences;
- Inclusion – acceptance and encouraging everyone to participate and contribute.
A solicitor must treat people fairly, with dignity and respect and this extends outside practice – racist views on social media would be in breach
Give details of the principle of acting in the best interests of the client
Where a client wants advice on something outside the solicitor’s area of expertise, the solicitor would need to refer the client to an expert
Additionally, solicitors shouldn’t take on work when they have no capacity
