The SRA is overhauling its continuing competence and ethics training frameworks, with the changes taking effect from the 2027 practising year. The headline requirement is mandatory ethics training to be in place by October 2027, alongside the first revision to the Solicitors Statement of Competence (SoSC) in ten years. A good deal remains to be decided, but the direction of travel is clear enough for law firms to begin their preparations now.
Why a renewed focus on ethics, and why now?
The SoSC has not been updated since 2015, and the current competence proposals represent the most significant changes to the SRA’s continuing competence framework in a decade. The past ten years have not been particularly kind in terms of public perception of the profession, as a series of high-profile public scandals have placed professional ethics under sustained public scrutiny, giving the SRA both the evidence it needs and the impetus to act.
The Post Office scandal, widely regarded as one of the most serious miscarriages of justice in British legal history, is perhaps the most prominent example. There are currently approximately 20 live investigations into solicitors and law firms linked to that scandal, focusing on those who facilitated the prosecution of postmasters; the role of lawyers in that process remains a serious and unresolved question for the profession.
Sarah Rapson, the SRA’s Chief Executive, recently stated that approximately two-thirds of all of its disciplinary investigations involve “some reference” to professional ethics. That figure reflects a pattern that has become increasingly difficult for the regulator to ignore, and it likely provides much of the incentive for the reforms now being introduced. The SRA has also highlighted specific recurring concerns; the preparation of non-disclosure agreements used to restrict the reporting of misconduct to a regulator or of a criminal offence to the police; the growth of strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) and wider conduct in litigation concerns; and the particular pressures facing in-house solicitors, where their duty to the court can increasingly come into tension with their employer’s commercial and financial priorities.
The ethics training proposals
The SRA’s consultation on Strengthening our Continuing Competence Approach sets out three main proposals: mandatory recording of learning and development; a new requirement for three hours of annual ethics discussions; and new powers enabling the SRA to direct that specific training be undertaken where competence concerns arise. The consultation is now closed, and the profession awaits the SRA’s response.
The keystone of the proposals is a requirement for every solicitor to undertake a minimum of three hours of facilitated group discussion on professional ethics each year. The discussions are intended to be practical in nature, giving solicitors the opportunity to work through ethical dilemmas and consider how they would approach similar situations in practice.
The SRA has gone into the weeds of precisely how it wants these discussions to take place. This represents a marked departure from the existing continuing competence framework, which has to date operated on a largely self-directed basis. Under the existing approach, solicitors are currently expected to reflect on their own learning and development needs, address any gaps and keep a record of what they have done, but there is no prescribed format, no minimum number of hours and no requirement to engage with ethics as a distinct subject. The shift to a mandatory, structured and facilitated group discussion model signals that the SRA no longer considers self-reflection alone to be sufficient when it comes to ethics. The proposed requirements include:
- Duration – every solicitor must undertake a minimum of three hours of facilitated group discussion on professional ethics each year.
- Facilitation – sessions must be led by a solicitor holding a current practising certificate, with at least three years of post-admission practice and a clean regulatory and disciplinary record.
- Group size – sessions must involve between 3 and 12 participants.
- Location – the sessions must be held in person for the whole three hours.
- Certification – solicitors must formally certify completion when renewing their practising certificate, beginning with the 2027 renewal cycle.
The profession has widely welcomed the broad intention behind the proposals. However, the format and detail have attracted criticism, and the Law Society has described the proposed structure as “overly restrictive and impractical.”
The facilitator requirement, as presently drafted, would exclude a range of professionals who might otherwise be well placed to lead these discussions, including barristers, CILEX lawyers, compliance professionals, academics, and those with specialist learning and development expertise. The cost implications are also substantial. The Law Society has pointed out that, on the SRA’s own figures, there were 177,841 practising solicitors, as at June 2026. Three hours of ethics sessions delivered to groups of 12 at £100 per hour would cost the profession in the region of £4.5 million, before accounting for preparation time, administration or room hire. The opportunity cost is considerably higher, as on an assumed hourly rate of £150, three hours of lost fee-earning time across the profession would equate to approximately £80 million. The reality is that the loss of fee earning time will amount to far more than that figure taking into account the range of firms the SRA regulates.
The SRA has not yet published its final response. Given the nature of the feedback received, it is widely anticipated that whilst the three-hour requirement itself will remain, the format may be made more flexible, and the strict group size capped at 12 participants may not survive in its current proposed form.
Firms should not finalise their plans until the final position is known, but there is value in beginning to think through the practical questions now. What ethical issues arise most frequently in the firm’s areas of work that would be worth discussing? How should groups be structured, and should sessions be stratified by type of work in the firm or, perhaps by seniority, or should groups be more mixed to encourage diversity of thought? Who within the firm, or outside it, would be best placed to facilitate these conversations?
The SRA’s focus is on ethics as a continuous and evolving discipline rather than a compliance based tick-box exercise, and firms that approach the requirement without genuine engagement, are likely to miss the point. The expectation will likely be that firms will develop their approach to ethics training over time, building on each year’s discussions rather than repeating the same session annually. A long-term training plan may therefore be worth proper consideration.
The revised Statement of Solicitor Competence
A separate consultation, running from 8 October to 3 December 2026, addresses the SoSC itself. The current SoSC dates from 2015. Its stated purposes are to support the obligations placed on individuals and firms through the Codes of Conduct; to provide public confidence that regulated individuals are meeting expected standards; to be sufficiently flexible to reflect the wide range of environments and roles in which solicitors now operate; and to be valued by employers as complementing their own objectives.
The consultation does not propose any change to the Threshold Standard, meaning the level of competence expected of a newly qualified solicitor is not expected to change. The proposed revisions to the Statement itself fall into four broad areas.
- Technology and AI – there is broad consensus that the Statement needs to reflect the use of technology explicitly, and AI in particular. The SRA has already issued a Warning Notice on the misuse of AI, highlighting concerns including client confidentiality particularly in relation to clients’ personal data or other confidential information ,the risk of over-reliance on the use of AI, and the potential for AI tools to generate false or incorrect information.
- Professional conduct and ethics – in light of the Legal Services Board’s statement of policy on upholding professional ethics duties, and consistent with the SRA’s wider work in this area, the proposed changes introduce new competences addressing the ability to prioritise ethical obligations when they conflict with one another, and to understand when and how to raise concerns about ethical issues or unethical behaviour.
- Supervision – the proposed changes place greater emphasis on supervision in the context of technology and AI and introduce competences relating to leading by example in promoting professional integrity and ethical practice, as well as recognising and responding to concerns about the health and wellbeing of those being supervised.
- Health and wellbeing – the proposed changes reflect an expectation that solicitors will be aware of their own health and wellbeing and that of those they supervise, and will know when to seek support. The importance of taking steps to create and promote an inclusive and healthy workplace culture is also emphasised.
Firms will need to understand the proposed changes not merely as a revision to a regulatory document, but as a signal of where the SRA’s supervisory focus is likely to sit in the years ahead.
Key takeaways
The ethics training proposals and revised SoSC together signal a more proactive approach from the SRA as to how it will expect standards to be maintained and demonstrated across the profession. For firms, the practical question is not whether to engage with these changes but how to do so in a way that is genuinely useful rather than being merely compliant. On the ethics training side, that means thinking about the firm’s own ethical pressure points; whether those arise from the nature of the work, the structure of the firm, or its workplace culture, and approaching the three-hour requirement as a genuine opportunity to have those conversations in a structured and meaningful way. The revised SoSC, meanwhile, gives firms a fairly clear indication of where the SRA’s supervisory attention is likely to be focused in the years ahead.
If you need guidance on any of the issues outlined in this article, contact our legal services regulatory specialists.
About the authors
Zoe Beels is an Associate in the Regulatory team, advising regulated professionals and firms on regulatory compliance, professional ethics, internal investigations and disciplinary proceedings.
Jessica Clay is partner with a substantial practice advising law firms, including magic circle, global and boutique law firms, as well as partners and others working within firms and lawyers working in-house. Jessica also advises alternative legal services providers.
Join the conversation
Tags
KN_Newsletter
Get the latest insights, news and events from Kingsley Napley straight to your inbox.