Birmingham-based legal regulator the Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched a national campaign to give people a chance to have their say about action taken against solicitors who fall short of expected standards.
Members of the public, charities and consumer representatives were invited to the launch of the ‘A Question of Trust’ campaign at the Baltic Centre in Gateshead on September 30.
The campaign is part of a wider SRA initiative asking questions about issues of trust, professional standards and effective regulation. It will run until the end of January 2016.
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: “We regulate in the public interest, so it’s important that we ask the public what really matters to them when using a solicitor and what should happen when things go wrong. We want people to have their say on issues that we tackle every day.
“Their views will feed into our regulatory model and help us to deliver consistent decisions that meet the expectations of both the public and the profession.”
Over the next few months, the SRA will be holding 28 events across England and Wales seeking views through an interactive voting session. People attending will be asked to vote on how seriously they view different situations where solicitors have failed to uphold professional standards at work or in their private lives.
As part of developing the campaign, in July the SRA asked 10,000 solicitors to take part in an ‘A Question of Trust’ online survey of the profession.
An online survey for the general public has now gone live as part of the next stage of the campaign. Legal professionals can also take part in this wider survey.
A formal consultation on issues at the heart of ‘A Question of Trust’ is also part of the campaign and it too runs until January 31 2016.
The SRA has pledged all feedback will help to build a reference framework, which will support decision making and transparency. on September 30.
The campaign is part of a wider SRA initiative asking questions about issues of trust, professional standards and effective regulation. It will run until the end of January 2016.
Paul Philip, SRA chief executive, said: “We regulate in the public interest, so it’s important that we ask the public what really matters to them when using a solicitor and what should happen when things go wrong. We want people to have their say on issues that we tackle every day.
“Their views will feed into our regulatory model and help us to deliver consistent decisions that meet the expectations of both the public and the profession.”
Over the next few months, the SRA will be holding 28 events across England and Wales seeking views through an interactive voting session. People attending will be asked to vote on how seriously they view different situations where solicitors have failed to uphold professional standards at work or in their private lives.
As part of developing the campaign, in July the SRA asked 10,000 solicitors to take part in an ‘A Question of Trust’ online survey of the profession.
An online survey for the general public has now gone live as part of the next stage of the campaign. Legal professionals can also take part in this wider survey.
A formal consultation on issues at the heart of ‘A Question of Trust’ is also part of the campaign and it too runs until January 31 2016.
The SRA has pledged all feedback will help to build a reference framework, which will support decision making and transparency.
