Profession Conduct Revision Notes
SRA Principles
You must uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice (Principle 1)
You must act in a way that upholds public trust and confidence (Principle 2)
You must act with independence (Principle 3).
You must act with honesty (Principle 4)
You must act with integrity (Principle 5).
You must act in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion (Principle 6)
You must act in the client’s best interests (Principle 7).
SRA Codes of Conduct
- Paragraph 4.1 – Requires a solicitor to account to the client for any financial benefit
they receive unless the client agrees otherwise.
- Paragraph 5.1 – A client must always be informed of the solicitor’s or the firm’s
financial interest in making a referral (5.1(a)).
- Paragraph 6.1 – If there is a conflict of interest, cannot act in any circumstances.
- Paragraph 6.2 - provides that you must not act if there is a client conflict or
significant risk of a client conflict. Usually there will be a client conflict in acting for
both seller and buyer in a residential property transaction e.g., because there will
have to be negotiations over the price. However, this will not always be the case. You
can act if there is no conflict so the clients having a substantially common interest is
not the ONLY case in which you can act. They are not competing for the same
objective.
- Paragraph 6.3 – applies to confidential information belonging to a former client, and
not just current clients. If there is on the facts, an adverse interest between the client
who whom you wish to act and the former client for whom, you hold confidential
information, it may be possible to act, but only if paragraph 6.5 is complied with.
- Paragraph 8.3 – Gives the requirement of informing the client in writing of their right
to complain.
- Paragraph 8.5
- Paragraph 8.6 – You must ensure that clients are in a position to make informed
decisions about the services they need, how their matter will be handled and the
options available to them.
- Paragraph 8.7 – Deals with information about costs. It is not sufficient to tell the
client the hourly rate (only). Providing the best possible information about the likely
overall cost of the matter will have to take account of the time that you will spend.
‘costs’ in para 8.7 is defined in the glossary as your fees and disbursements.
Client Money
, - Where you (the solicitor) receive a financial benefit as a result of acting for a client,
you must pay it to the client.
- Although you do need to ‘properly account’ to a client (unless they agree otherwise)
(Paragraph 4.1 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors), that does not necessarily mean
paying the money to the client. For example, you may ‘account’ by offsetting the
amount received against your charges.
- A client must be given the best possible information about how the matter will be
priced (Paragraph 8.7 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors). There is no requirement
for that information to be provided in writing. The requirement to provide costs
information extends to the client being informed of the likely overall as appropriate as
the matter progresses.
Money Laundering
- Need to suspect or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that a person is
engaged in money laundering is likely to commit an offence under s.330 of the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 unless the solicitor makes an authorised disclosure as
soon as is practicable.
- Any transaction involving cash should be treated with caution.
- Money laundering regulations require that you know the identity of your client, as
secrecy about identity is often important when disguising the origin of illegal funds.
- Suspicious to instruct a firm that is far away from the client’s base or location of the
transaction on a non-specialist matter.
The following are reasonable grounds for suspicion:
- Clients who ask you to hold large sums of cash for property purchase and
who then ask for a cheque from your firms
- Secretive clients who will not disclose their identity documents.
Duty not to mislead the Court/Uphold Rule of Law
- Principle 1
- Solicitor’s duty not to mislead the court overrides their duty to act in the best interests
of their client.
- E.g. if client wants you to mislead the court in some way, you should explain that you
cannot do this as you cannot knowingly mislead the court. Would not tell the court
first, need to cease acting for client there and then before it goes further.
Confidentiality
- Para 6.2 does not apply if a former client
SRA Principles
You must uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice (Principle 1)
You must act in a way that upholds public trust and confidence (Principle 2)
You must act with independence (Principle 3).
You must act with honesty (Principle 4)
You must act with integrity (Principle 5).
You must act in a way that encourages equality, diversity and inclusion (Principle 6)
You must act in the client’s best interests (Principle 7).
SRA Codes of Conduct
- Paragraph 4.1 – Requires a solicitor to account to the client for any financial benefit
they receive unless the client agrees otherwise.
- Paragraph 5.1 – A client must always be informed of the solicitor’s or the firm’s
financial interest in making a referral (5.1(a)).
- Paragraph 6.1 – If there is a conflict of interest, cannot act in any circumstances.
- Paragraph 6.2 - provides that you must not act if there is a client conflict or
significant risk of a client conflict. Usually there will be a client conflict in acting for
both seller and buyer in a residential property transaction e.g., because there will
have to be negotiations over the price. However, this will not always be the case. You
can act if there is no conflict so the clients having a substantially common interest is
not the ONLY case in which you can act. They are not competing for the same
objective.
- Paragraph 6.3 – applies to confidential information belonging to a former client, and
not just current clients. If there is on the facts, an adverse interest between the client
who whom you wish to act and the former client for whom, you hold confidential
information, it may be possible to act, but only if paragraph 6.5 is complied with.
- Paragraph 8.3 – Gives the requirement of informing the client in writing of their right
to complain.
- Paragraph 8.5
- Paragraph 8.6 – You must ensure that clients are in a position to make informed
decisions about the services they need, how their matter will be handled and the
options available to them.
- Paragraph 8.7 – Deals with information about costs. It is not sufficient to tell the
client the hourly rate (only). Providing the best possible information about the likely
overall cost of the matter will have to take account of the time that you will spend.
‘costs’ in para 8.7 is defined in the glossary as your fees and disbursements.
Client Money
, - Where you (the solicitor) receive a financial benefit as a result of acting for a client,
you must pay it to the client.
- Although you do need to ‘properly account’ to a client (unless they agree otherwise)
(Paragraph 4.1 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors), that does not necessarily mean
paying the money to the client. For example, you may ‘account’ by offsetting the
amount received against your charges.
- A client must be given the best possible information about how the matter will be
priced (Paragraph 8.7 of the Code of Conduct for Solicitors). There is no requirement
for that information to be provided in writing. The requirement to provide costs
information extends to the client being informed of the likely overall as appropriate as
the matter progresses.
Money Laundering
- Need to suspect or have reasonable grounds to know or suspect that a person is
engaged in money laundering is likely to commit an offence under s.330 of the
Proceeds of Crime Act 2002 unless the solicitor makes an authorised disclosure as
soon as is practicable.
- Any transaction involving cash should be treated with caution.
- Money laundering regulations require that you know the identity of your client, as
secrecy about identity is often important when disguising the origin of illegal funds.
- Suspicious to instruct a firm that is far away from the client’s base or location of the
transaction on a non-specialist matter.
The following are reasonable grounds for suspicion:
- Clients who ask you to hold large sums of cash for property purchase and
who then ask for a cheque from your firms
- Secretive clients who will not disclose their identity documents.
Duty not to mislead the Court/Uphold Rule of Law
- Principle 1
- Solicitor’s duty not to mislead the court overrides their duty to act in the best interests
of their client.
- E.g. if client wants you to mislead the court in some way, you should explain that you
cannot do this as you cannot knowingly mislead the court. Would not tell the court
first, need to cease acting for client there and then before it goes further.
Confidentiality
- Para 6.2 does not apply if a former client
