Client care

This subtopic reflects requirements in the SRA 2019 regime, effective from 25 November 2019. See Practice Note: Client care—law firms. See also Precedent: Client care manual.

Regulatory requirements in relation to client care are extensive and cover a wide range of areas; some of which are so large they command their own Practice Notes (and even subtopics). Regulatory requirements are found in the two Codes of Conduct (the SRA Code for Solicitors 2019 and the SRA Code for Firms 2019), which should be read in the context of the SRA Principles 2019.

Having occupied a prime spot in the 2011 Code of Conduct with chapter 1 dedicated to it, client care is not a key concept in the 2019 Codes. Indeed the phrase ‘client care’ does not appear once in the 2019 regime. Instead, the 2019 Codes focus on ‘service and competence’.

Client care requirements can also be found in Lexcel, the Law Society’s voluntary practice management standard. The requirements of the Lexcel standards should be considered compulsory for firms that have or are working towards Lexcel accreditation; they are not compulsory for other firms although