SRA issues dedicated guidance to support in-house solicitors

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a range of guidance materials to support the 34,500 plus solicitors working in-house across England and Wales.

The guidance is intended to address the unique challenges and issues facing in-house solicitors working across a range of employers and sectors, including local government.

Topics covered include identifying the client, and reporting concerns of wrongdoing. The SRA also addresses issues such as legal professional privilege, balancing ethical obligations and managing legal risk.

“Our guidance for employers aims to enhance understanding of solicitors’ professional obligations, and strengthen the support that employers provide to help solicitors to meet them,” the regulator said.

The SRA added that it had made a number of changes as a result of feedback during the process of developing the materials, including:

• More practical examples, resources and checklists.
• More information on acting for third parties and managing conflicts of interest.
• New guidance focused solely on legal professional privilege for the in-house solicitor.
• Clearer guidance on managing internal investigations and providing support for individuals involved.

Juliet Oliver, General Counsel at the Solicitors Regulation Authority said: “This is the first time we have produced such a breadth of guidance for in-house solicitors. I want to thank all of those who took time to comment. The input we received from professionals was invaluable.'

“These documents reflect the unique challenges and issues that in-house solicitors encounter in their day-to-day roles and aim to support solicitors in meeting these, and to highlight the value that in-house solicitors can bring to organisations in promoting ethical behaviour and managing legal risk.”

The guidance includes:

• Identifying your client when working in-house
• Reporting concerns about wrongdoing when working in-house
• Internal investigations
• Guidance for employers on a solicitor's professional obligations
• New separate document for governing boards, chief executives and senior officers in organisations employing in-house solicitors
• New guidance on legal professional privilege when working in-house

The materials build on issues that arose from the SRA’s 2023 thematic review on working in-house.