Anya Blog

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) regulates more than 100,000 solicitors in England and Wales. “Our purpose is to protect the public by ensuring that solicitors meet high standards, and by acting when risks are identified. We are the independent regulatory body of the Law Society of England and Wales.” But there have been repeated complaints that black and minority ethnic (BME) firms have been disproportionately targeted for interventions, and that complaints and disciplinary proceedings have been handled in a discriminatory way. Lord Ouseley, former head of the Commission for Racial Equality, was jointly commissioned by the SRA and the Society of Black Lawyers to conduct an independent investigation into the SRA’s treatment of BME solicitors and firms.

His report has just been published and it makes very uncomfortable reading for the SRA. Lord Ouseley says “it is the issue of disproportionality that has focused the concerns of BME solicitors.” Why are they over-represented in all aspects of regulation as depicted in the statistics produced by the SRA? He highlights two areas of concern in that BME solicitors are more subject to forensic investigations than white solicitors and, as a consequence, are disadvantaged considerably through the non-disclosure of information about allegations made about them. He finds that “not sufficient leadership emphasis has been given to the values of equality and diversity (which) leaves the SRA open to the charge of institutional racism.”

One of his more damning conclusions is the “level of prejudice and bias which exists among personnel” and the “evidence of some stereotyping being applied.” He cites case evidence of BME solicitors who are often assumed to be guilty of complaints or allegations made against them. They are more vulnerable as sole practitioners or practising in firms with four or fewer partners, firms which tend to score higher in the SRA’s risk assessment and therefore feature more in regulatory work. Another reported disadvantage is the failure to deal effectively and independently with complaints made by BME solicitors and staff of alleged discrimination in the way they have been treated by the SRA. “The processes applied seemed designed to ensure that the outcomes are virtually always against the complainer.”

Lord Ouseley makes 40 specific recommendations and “urgent, active and swift implementation is the most important.” The full text of the 106 page report can be found at:
http://www.sra.org.uk/documents/SRA/equality-diversity/ouseley-report.pdf

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