The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published an update to its Sectoral Risk Assessment on anti‑money laundering and terrorist financing.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has updated its guidance on effective supervision following the Court of Appeal's decision in Mazur v Charles Russell Speechlys LLP (Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and others, intervening) [2026] EWCA Civ 369. The revised guidance reflects the court's clarification that an unauthorised person may lawfully carry out tasks that fall within the scope of the conduct of litigation on behalf of an authorised individual. The guidance emphasises that the authorised individual remains responsible for delegated work and must be satisfied that arrangements are in place to ensure proper direction, management, supervision and control. The SRA has expanded the guidance on supervision and delegation arrangements, including audit and quality assurance measures, supervision in high-volume practices, supervision by individuals authorised by other legal regulators, and oversight of artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted or AI-generated legal work. The guidance also provides case studies and practical examples to assist firms in assessing the effectiveness of their supervision arrangements.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has updated its guidance for firms to ensure that they are adhering to the government’s recent sanctions on both Russian nationals and organisations as a result of the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The SRA states in the guidance that it is to carry out spot checks to assess firms' compliance with the financial sanctions regime.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has updated its warning notice on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). The warning notice covers the use of NDAs and is relevant to all NDAs regardless of the context in which they arise. It addresses topics such as the regulatory obligations of those running law firms, the SRA principles, and concerns the SRA has regarding the use of NDAs.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has replaced its previous guidance on its approach to equality, diversity and inclusion and published updated guidance, Complying with Principle 6—encouraging equality, diversity and inclusion.

The Solicitor's Regulatory Authority (SRA) has updated its warning notice on the use of non-disclosure agreements (NDAs). This comes after the SRA updated and then removed updated guidance in July 2024, stating that update was an administrative error. The warning notice covers the use of NDAs and is relevant to all NDAs regardless of the context in which they arise. It addresses topics such as the regulatory obligations of those running law firms, the SRA principles, and concerns the SRA has regarding the use of NDAs. This new update to the warning notice has removed the sentence 'NDAs include any form of agreement or contract, or a clause within a wider agreement or contract, under which it is agreed that certain information will be kept confidential' in the section 'Is an NDA needed?' It has also removed the sentence 'A settlement agreement is not valid unless legal advice has been provided by a relevant legal adviser' in the section 'Funding and your duty to your client'.

Law360, London: The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) on 18 November 2024 published new guidelines imploring in-house solicitors to report wrongdoing in their organisations following the Post Office Horizon scandal.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published a warning notice directed at all solicitors and law firms under its regulation. The notice addresses two identified areas of artificial intelligence (AI) misuse: the submission of AI-generated false case citations to courts and breaches of client confidentiality through the use of public AI tools. In its notice, the SRA references several cases, including: R (Ayinde) v Haringey LBC [2025] EWHC 1383, UK v SSHD [2026] UKUT 81 (IAC), BCP v A Mother [2026] EWFC 71 (B) and Cork v Smith [2026] EWHC 1199 (Ch). The SRA emphasises that solicitors remain personally accountable for all AI-assisted outputs and warns that failure to comply with its standards may result in disciplinary action.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has three core operational functions: • authorisation (see Practice Note: SRA's authorisation function) • supervision (see Practice Note: SRA's supervision function) • enforcement (which this Practice Note covers) This Practice Note describes the SRA’s enforcement function and its general approach to enforcement. For more information on the SRA’s detailed enforcement strategy, see Practice Note: SRA enforcement strategy. Conduct, negligence and complaints The SRA's enforcement teams deal with conduct issues rather than complaints about poor service, which are handled by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) (see Practice Note: Legal complaints handling—regulatory bodies). Examples of conduct and service issues include: Conduct issue for SRA Service issue for LeO Unjustified retention of client money Failure to follow instructions Failure to account to client for money due to them Unreasonable delays Acting in a conflict situation Failure to reply to letters, emails or telephone calls Discrimination Inadequate costs information Breach of undertaking Failure to progress a matter If a matter relates to potential negligence,

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has three core operational functions: • authorisation (see Practice Note: SRA's authorisation function) • supervision (which this Practice Note covers) • enforcement (see Practice Note: SRA's enforcement function) The SRA's supervision function is responsible for the risk-based oversight of the entire regulated community. It receives reports and investigates concerns raised about firms and individuals regulated by the SRA. Supervision teams also encourage and support firms to: • deal with their own risks • improve standards • provide the required outcomes for clients This Practice Note describes the SRA's supervision function and its general approach to supervision under the SRA Standards and Regulations. Who the SRA supervises Generally, the SRA will focus on supervising each firm as an entity, but it has powers over: • solicitors and other legal professionals who are registered with the SRA, eg registered foreign lawyers • other employees who do not provide reserved legal services • compliance officers (COLPs and COFAs) who are not solicitors • managers, whom the SRA defines as the: ◦ sole principal in a recognised sole practice

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has three core operational functions: • authorisation (which this Practice Note covers) • supervision (see Practice Note: SRA’s supervision function) • enforcement (see Practice Note: SRA’s enforcement function) In order to provide reserved legal services or, in the case of an individual, to hold yourself out as a solicitor, you must be authorised by one of the legal services regulators. The SRA’s authorisation teams ensure that applicants for authorisation are properly vetted. Only those who can demonstrate that they meet the required standards will be authorised by the SRA. This Practice Note describes the SRA’s approach to authorisation. Who the SRA authorises The SRA deals with applications by: • organisations for approval as recognised bodies (ie law firms owned and managed by solicitors), recognised sole practices or licensed bodies (alternative business structures (ABSs) (characterised by the involvement of non-lawyer owners and/or managers) and multi-disciplinary practices (MDPs) (licensed bodies that combine legal services with other professional services) • individuals for: ◦ admission as solicitors ◦ authorisation as a sole practitioner or freelance solicitor

Law360: Even the country's biggest law firms need to be on their toes when it comes to complying with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) rules after a tribunal slapped Clyde & Co LLP with a £500,000 fine on 11 January 2024. The SRA has warned that this action heralds the levying of even heftier fines in the future.