SRA chairman says too many solicitors are rubbish
16 November 2012
SRA chairman Charles Plant has slammed the legal profession, saying too many solicitors are "simply not good enough".

The chief wallah delivered his tongue-lashing in a speech to the Devon & Exeter Law Society, where he criticised a "significant minority" of UK solicitors for letting down the public and the profession, according to a Legal Futures report.

Pulling out his naughty list for examples, Plant pointed to the 500 firms who don't have a compliance officer 5 months after the deadline passed for their appointment. He said it demonstrated a "breathtaking disregard of regulatory obligations" and vowed to take enforcement action against those still in breach at the end of the year, while smoke shot from his ears.

Plant tells off the legal profession yesterday

Plant also recognises that the SRA, which (perhaps unfairly) suffers from a reputation for moving slower than a limbless sloth, has work to do. In a speech last month he admitted that "significant reform of our approach is necessary if we are to be a regulator fit for the liberalised legal landscape". Tough talk. Hopefully it means that in the future the SRA will home in on firms like City Law well before they collapse with millions in debts. In the meantime, there are still plenty of easy pickings.