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SRA Regulatory Guidance for in-house solicitors: Helpful or alarming?
The SRA published guidance specifically for in-house solicitors in November 2024.
The guidance has had mixed reviews.
On the one hand, recent scandals, including the Post Office, have demonstrated the need to clarify the expectations of in-house solicitors. On the other hand, there are concerns that the guidance has shed light on the precarious path that in-house lawyers tread every day, without providing full practical guidance.
Key concerns identified include:
- In-house solicitors are regulated to the same standards as private practice lawyers, but are generally employed by organisations that are not regulated.
- The guidance emphasises the importance of in-house solicitors identifying their clients, but concerns have been expressed that it offers little practical guidance for in-house solicitors that operate in complex group structures.
- In-house solicitors are required to act in the best interests of their employer client and keep its affairs confidential, but must also act with independence, honesty and integrity and uphold the role of law.
In our September event, our experts will unpack the guidance and provide their insights on how in-house teams should react.
Date: Wednesday 24th September 2025
Time: 10:00 – 11:00 BST
Format: Virtual event
Speakers
Jessica Irwin
Senior Risk & Compliance Consultant at The Compliance Office
Jess joined the Compliance Office in 2023, bringing over two decades of legal and compliance expertise. She qualified as a Solicitor in 2000 and spent 19 years as a litigator at a leading, long-established Thames Valley law firm. In 2019, she transitioned into the role of Compliance Manager at the same firm, working closely with the COLP and MLRO/MLCO to drive best practice and ensure full SRA compliance. At the Compliance Office, Jess keeps a close watch on regulatory developments and ensures clients are always up to date. She produces much of the content for our quarterly compliance updates, maintains and refines client policies and procedures, and is a trusted resource for navigating the ever-changing compliance landscape. Known for her meticulous approach and deep industry insight, Jess ensures our clients receive accurate, timely, and practical guidance.
Andy Donovan
Founder & Consultant, The Compliance Office
Andy is a self-confessed SRA compliance geek. While working at the SRA, Andy contributed to the drafting of the SRA Code of Conduct 2009 as well as the SRA Handbook 2011. Seeing a need in the market for a simpler set of compliance tools and keen to share knowledge more widely, Andy left the SRA in 2014 to establish the Compliance Office. Andy oversaw the development of the Compliance Office into one of the leading SRA & AML compliance consultancies and ultimately joined the VinciWorks group of companies in 2022. VinciWorks is a market leader in tech-based compliance solutions, working with over 2,000 of the world’s leading companies in compliance e-learning and workflows. Andy has written extensively on the topic of SRA compliance including as a contributor to the ‘Law of Legal Services‘ published by LexisNexis and has appeared on BBC1 to discuss legal professional ethics. Outside of the Compliance Office Andy also works as a coach and holds a fee-paid judicial post.
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