How to ensure continuing professional competence

Is your firm up to date with the latest ways to comply with its responsibilities? Staying updated is an important part of ensuring your firm runs smoothly and you continue to offer a high quality of legal service.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has released a list of actions they will be taking to ensure solicitors are complying with regulations.

The Regulator have announced this in response to the Legal Services Boards recent statement of policy on ongoing competence.

The Chief Executive of the SRA, Paul Phillip said: ‘We expect the profession to deliver a high standard of service to those who need their help. That means we must make sure that solicitors and the employees of firms we regulate have up-to-date skills, knowledge, and behaviours.’

Throughout 2023, the SRA aims to work with firms who are not meeting standards and to take action where firms fall short to ensure customers are protected.

Through this approach, the SRA is prioritising annual goals for compliance.

The plan outlined by the SRA includes ensuring thematic reviews which will target areas where competence is an identified risk. They will also continue to review training records, especially so for pre-identified high risk areas.

Other objectives are to respond to individual cases of incompetence on an induvial basis and to take action where it is needed. This could be in terms of providing supervision. They will also aim to create an enhanced follow up approach to competence records which are below their standards.

Firms should recognise these annual aims and ensure to stay in line with guidance which will ensure maintaining high standards.