Regulatory settlement agreements
A regulatory settlement agreement, or RSA, is a formal agreement between you and the SRA that resolves the investigation without a referral to the SDT. Under an RSA, you accept the SRA’s findings and agree to the proposed outcome, which may include a fine, a rebuke, or conditions. In return, the SRA closes the investigation. RSAs are increasingly common, particularly in cases where the facts are not seriously disputed and the conduct, while a breach, does not require the most serious sanctions. Agreeing to an RSA is not a decision to take without advice. The terms matter, and a poorly negotiated RSA can have consequences for your practising certificate, your indemnity cover, and your ability to hold certain roles. We advise on whether an RSA is in your interests and, if so, how to negotiate its terms.
If you are the COLP or COFA at your firm
If you hold the role of Compliance Officer for Legal Practice or Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration, an SRA investigation raises particular considerations. You have personal regulatory obligations as COLP or COFA that are separate from your obligations as an individual solicitor, and an investigation may look at both in parallel. If the investigation relates to matters at your firm, your personal position and the firm’s position may diverge. In that situation, you need independent advice that is separate from any advice the firm is receiving, even if the firm is also instructing solicitors in connection with the same investigation.
Receiving a letter from the Solicitors Regulation Authority is one of the most unsettling things that can happen in a solicitor’s career. Your first instinct may be to respond immediately, call a colleague, or speak to your firm’s management. Before you do any of those things, stop. The steps you take in the first few days can have a significant bearing on how your case proceeds, and unlike most regulatory bodies, the SRA is not just your regulator. It is also a potential prosecutor.
What the letter means, and what it does not
A letter from the SRA at this stage usually means that a concern has been reported to them, by a client, a former colleague, your firm, a court, or another regulator, and that they are in the early stages of deciding whether to investigate. It does not mean you have been found to have done anything wrong. It does not mean proceedings are inevitable.
The SRA applies what it calls an assessment threshold test before committing to a full investigation. A concern will only be investigated if it passes all three stages of that test: there must be a potential breach of the SRA’s Standards and Regulations; that breach must be sufficiently serious that, if proved, it is capable of resulting in regulatory action; and it must be capable of proof. Many complaints do not pass this test and go no further.
What the letter does mean is that something has been put in front of the SRA, and they are looking at it. That alone is reason to take it seriously from the outset.
The SRA is different from other regulators
Solicitors facing SRA scrutiny are in a different position from nurses, doctors, or other regulated professionals. The SRA regulates you both as an individual and, in many cases, as someone working within a regulated firm. The SRA’s Standards and Regulations govern not just your conduct but your firm’s, and the two investigations can run in parallel.
More significantly, the SRA has the power to refer matters to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT), an independent statutory tribunal with the power to strike you off the roll, suspend you, impose conditions on your practising certificate, and impose substantial fines. Since July 2022, the SRA’s own direct fining powers were increased to £25,000 for solicitors and traditional law firms, meaning more cases are now resolved without SDT referral, but the most serious matters still go to the tribunal.
This matters because the SRA is not simply investigating a complaint: it is deciding whether to prosecute you before a tribunal. That distinction should shape your response from day one.
What you should do first
Do not respond to the letter without taking advice. The SRA’s letter will typically invite you to comment or provide information. There is no general obligation to self-incriminate, and your response, or a poorly worded one, can become evidence. Before you put anything in writing to the SRA, speak to a specialist regulatory solicitor.
Do preserve everything. Do not delete emails, alter documents, or destroy records. The SRA has strong investigatory powers and can require you to produce information. Anything that appears to have been destroyed or withheld will aggravate your position significantly.
Do not discuss the matter with colleagues in your firm without first considering whether they could be witnesses or themselves under investigation. In a firm context, conversations that feel like internal support can become complicated.
Do check your indemnity cover. Professional indemnity insurance may cover regulatory defence costs, but this varies by policy. Check the position early and, if it does, notify your insurer promptly.
How the SRA investigation works
If the matter passes the assessment threshold test, the SRA will investigate. It will gather evidence using its statutory powers, which include requiring the production of documents and information, including material that would otherwise be confidential. You will usually be invited to provide your account.
The SRA takes a risk-based approach, focusing resources on the most serious conduct. It considers not only the nature of the alleged breach but whether it forms part of a pattern, and any aggravating or mitigating factors. Cooperation and early engagement with the investigation are relevant mitigating factors, though they are not a substitute for proper advice.
Investigation timelines vary. The SRA has indicated that many cases are concluded within three months and most within twelve months, with updates at three-monthly intervals if the case has not concluded.
What can happen at the end of an investigation
The SRA has a range of options. For less serious matters, it may close the investigation without action, issue a warning, or agree an outcome without formal proceedings. For more serious matters, it can impose a rebuke, issue a financial penalty of up to £25,000 for solicitors, impose conditions on a practising certificate, or refer the matter to the SDT. SDT hearings are usually held in public, and the tribunal’s findings are published.
A referral to the SDT does not mean you will be struck off. Many SDT matters result in fines, conditions, or other outcomes short of striking off. The outcome depends on the seriousness of the allegations, the evidence, your response to the process, and how you and your representatives present your case.
Why the first response matters
The SRA uses the information you provide, and the way you provide it, in its decision-making. An unadvised, reactive response to an SRA letter can close off options, inadvertently concede matters that are genuinely contested, and give the SRA more than it needs. A considered, properly advised response can help close down the investigation early, frame the narrative appropriately, and demonstrate the insight and remediation the SRA is looking for if the matter proceeds.
Regulated by a different body?
We act for regulated professionals across all major UK bodies. If your regulator is different, we have guides for
NMC-registered nurses, midwives and nursing associates,
GMC-registered doctors,
GPhC-registered pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, and
HCPC registrants. For full detail on how we defend SRA investigations and Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal proceedings, visit our
SRA investigation defence service page.
Regulatory Defence acts for solicitors and legal professionals facing SRA investigations and SDT proceedings. If you have received a letter from the SRA, contact us for a free initial telephone consultation. We will explain the process clearly and tell you honestly how we can help.