Firms’ compliance officers must confirm that their websites display the regulator’s logo, among others
Law firms in the UK are being required to declare compliance with transparency rules set by the Solicitors Regulations Authority (SRA).
The rules were established in December 2018, and compel firms to indicate the prices of certain services, provide information about the experience and share the credentials of service providers, the Law Society Gazette reported.
Firms are also required to show the SRA’s digital badge on their sites.
The mandate is a sign of the SRA ramping up enforcement of the transparency rules, which were drafted after a 2016 study by the Competition and Markets Authority found that clients seeking legal services did not have adequate information on prices and service levels. The regulator said that it aims to make such information about firms easily available to aid the public and companies in making informed decisions when it comes to legal assistance.
The SRA will be seeking confirmation from 8,000 firms, which will have until COB on 27 August to declare compliance in a process that will reportedly take approximately 10 minutes.
Firms that have not set up websites must also complete a declaration.
The SRA has yet to clarify what sanctions will be imposed on firms who fail to meet the requirement. The regulator has said that it does not intend to interfere with firms’ set prices.
The SRA had previously fined 13 firms for their inability to declare AML regulation compliance on time. Nine firms were also fined and rebuked for not complying with the transparency rules.
In 2019, the regulator declared that it would take “strong action” against firms violating AML regulations.
