The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors: What You Need to Know in 2026

The SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors is the regulatory framework that governs professional behaviour for every solicitor authorised to practise in England and Wales. The current version has been in force since 11 April 2025. This guide covers what it requires, the new workplace conduct obligations that came with that update, and what the enforcement picture looks like heading through 2026, including expanded fining powers and the FCA’s imminent takeover of AML supervision.

What Is the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors?

The full title is the SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors , RELs, RFLs and RSLs. It covers solicitors, registered European lawyers, registered foreign lawyers, and registered Swiss lawyers authorised to provide legal services in England and Wales.

The Code sits within the SRA Standards and Regulations framework, which replaced the former SRA Handbook in November 2019. There are two separate codes: one for individual solicitors and authorised individuals, and a separate Code of Conduct for Firms covering law firms and authorised bodies as organisations.

Both codes operate alongside the overarching SRA Principles, the SRA Accounts Rules, and other regulatory requirements.

One point worth noting from the outset: the Code does not restrict itself to conduct at work. It applies to any conduct that realistically touches upon your practice of the profession, including outside working hours. Out-of-office behaviour has been the basis for SDT referrals where it has reflected on a solicitor’s fitness to practise.

The SRA Principles

Seven SRA Principles sit at the foundation of the Standards and Regulations. They are the ethical bedrock from which all other obligations follow, and they apply to everyone regulated by the SRA.

The Principles require you to:

• Uphold the constitutional principle of the rule of law and the proper administration of justice
• Uphold public trust and confidence in the solicitors’ profession and in legal services provided by authorised persons
• Act with independence
• Act with honesty
• Act with integrity
• Encourage equality, diversity and inclusion
• Act in the best interests of each client

Where Principles conflict, those that protect the wider public interest take precedence. The rule of law and public confidence in the profession sit above the duty to act in any individual client’s best interests.

Your Core Obligations Under the Code

Acting in clients’ best interests

Solicitors must prioritise their clients’ interests, provided doing so does not require breaching any legal or regulatory obligation. This means giving clear and accurate advice, managing expectations honestly, and keeping clients properly informed throughout a matter. Clients should never be left uncertain about where things stand.

Confidentiality

Client confidentiality is a fundamental obligation. Solicitors must protect information obtained through the client relationship and handle sensitive data in line with both the Code and applicable data protection law. Accidental disclosure through poor email practices, inadequate systems, or insufficient supervision of support staff can carry the same consequences as deliberate breach.

Conflicts of interest

The Code requires early identification of potential conflicts: between your own interests and a client’s, or between two or more clients you act for simultaneously. Acting for clients with genuinely conflicting interests is generally prohibited. Narrow exceptions exist but require informed consent and careful ongoing management.

Client care

Clear communication sits at the heart of the client care requirements. Solicitors must explain costs and likely timescales in a way clients can understand, provide information about complaints procedures, and respond to concerns promptly. The Code is explicit: information should be given in a form clients can actually use, not buried in documents they are unlikely to read in full.

Fair Treatment of Colleagues New: April 2025

The April 2025 Code update added explicit obligations around workplace conduct. Before this, the SRA had to rely on the overarching Principles to take action on cases involving colleague mistreatment. The new provisions give the regulator direct, enforceable grounds.

Compliance Roles: COLP and COFA

For law firms, the SRA requires the appointment of two compliance officers. Both are mandatory and must be personally approved by the SRA.

The COLP (Compliance Officer for Legal Practice) is responsible for ensuring the firm and its employees comply with SRA regulatory requirements and the terms of the firm’s SRA authorisation. The COFA (Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration) is responsible for compliance with the SRA Accounts Rules.

In smaller firms, these roles often sit alongside a full caseload, and that combination of competing demands is one of the most common reasons compliance frameworks fail under inspection, not because the rules were misunderstood, but because the individuals carrying them were too stretched to act on what they knew.

What Happens If You Breach the Code?

The SRA’s approach is risk-based. Outcomes depend on the nature of the breach, whether it forms part of a pattern, and what harm resulted. Consequences range from a formal rebuke to removal from the roll of solicitors.

Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, which came into force in March 2024, the SRA now has unlimited fining powers for breaches related to economic crime. For breaches unrelated to economic crime, the £25,000 cap for traditional law firms remains, though the SRA has stated publicly that it intends to seek removal of that limit. The SDT has always had unlimited fining powers and continues to handle the most serious cases.

AML Enforcement in 2026: What the Numbers Show 2026 Update

The SRA’s AML Annual Report 2024–25, published in October 2025, confirmed a significant escalation in enforcement activity that has continued into 2026.

The most common failures identified were not sophisticated compliance gaps. Missing or inadequate client and matter risk assessments appeared in up to 39% of reviewed files. Source of funds and source of wealth checks were absent or incomplete. Firm-wide risk assessments were found to be generic or out of date in 70% of firms reviewed.

The SRA now uses sector-wide data to prioritise firms for inspection. Firms that provide poor or inconsistent data returns to the regulator automatically flag themselves for closer attention. Compliance is no longer policed purely through periodic review.

The FCA transfer: what it means for your firm

On 21 October 2025, the UK government confirmed that AML supervision of legal services will transfer from the SRA to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The SRA, alongside 21 other professional body supervisors, will ultimately lose its AML oversight function. Enabling legislation is expected through 2026 and 2027, and the SRA is expected to retain its supervisory role throughout 2026.

Practical Steps for Staying Compliant in 2026

The enforcement picture going into the second half of 2026 is clear: the SRA is inspecting more, fining more, and fining bigger. The FCA’s arrival as AML supervisor will raise expectations further. Compliance cannot be treated as an annual review exercise.