Kershaw was board chair for under two years while Philip led the SRA for over 11
The chair of the UK Legal Services Board, Alan Kershaw, has stepped down from his role, as has Solicitors Regulation Authority chief Paul Philip.
The Law Society Gazette reported on Philip’s departure last Thursday, while Kershaw’s was announced today. Philip led the SRA for over 11 years, but Kershaw was in the LSB chair role for less than two years.
The UK justice ministry said that a new permanent LSB chair would be recruited through a formal process. The ministry has commenced its search for an interim chair; in the meantime, senior independent director Catherine Brown will lead the board.
“Under Alan’s leadership, the LSB has refocused regulation’s role in promoting technology and innovation that increase access to legal services. The LSB has also sharpened its expectations for regulators to improve how lawyers and law firms handle consumer complaints,” LSB chief executive Craig Westwood said in a statement published by the Gazette. “Alan leaves with our gratitude for the leadership he has provided during his time as chair of the LSB. He has brought to this work valuable expertise in professional regulation, accompanied by strong championing of the needs of consumers and for the public good.”
Kershaw vacates the chair position with immediate effect.
Philip, meanwhile, will be preparing for retirement. He confirmed that he would depart near the end of the year once “a suitable replacement” had been recruited. According to the Gazette, the recruitment process begins next month.
“It has been a privilege to be able to play such a key role regulating in the public interest. It has been an incredibly interesting, challenging and fulfilling role,” Philip said in a statement published by the Gazette. “There is always more you would like to do and achieve, but I am proud of the progress we have made. After so long at the helm, this feels like the right time to retire and switch pace. But before then, there is a lot of significant work to progress. I then look forward to handing over to a new chief executive later in the year.”
He started his tenure with the SRA in 2014 as the successor to Antony Townsend. Law Society of England and Wales CEO Ian Jeffery praised Philip’s run in the role.
“He has led the SRA to a position where it now operates wholly independently of the Law Society and he has achieved much in his time. While the Law Society and the SRA will not always agree, I am grateful for the professional way he has engaged with us,” Jeffery said in a statement published by the Gazette. “Paul’s departure this autumn comes at a critical time in the history of the SRA. The hard lessons for the SRA from the Axiom and SSB collapses will require a period of deep reflection and significant organisational change. The handover to a new leader will be crucial to how the SRA moves forwards.”
While he acknowledged Philip’s contribution to the regulator, SRA board member Tony Williams said that “it is clearly time for a new broom at the SRA.”
“Paul has done 11 years and I think there should be time limits [for such jobs] anyway,” Williams said in a statement published by the Gazette.
SRA chair Anna Bradley is also preparing to step down at the end of next year, following the recruitment and settling in of a new chief executive.
“Paul has led the organisation through transformative change – including reforming our rules to get rid of unnecessary bureaucracy, introducing anti-money laundering regulatory arrangements, and developing and delivering the SQE to make sure everyone can trust that qualifying solicitors are meeting a consistent, high standard,” Bradley said in a statement published by the Gazette. “When he took over, the SRA was still very much embedded in the Law Society governance structures. He has helped us negotiate our way through to becoming a separate legal entity, significantly improved our operational processes, and ensured we became a more efficient and effective regulator. The SRA is mid-way through its current strategy and last year strengthened its senior management structure, making this a good time for succession to occur.”
