By Tony O’Riley-
The Solicitors Regulation Authority(SRA) is seeking to diversify its board of members, as it calls for new lay and solicitor members to join its team.
The SRA regulates the solicitor profession in England and Wales in the public interest, its overall objectives being to balance public protection with regulatory arrangements that support an increasingly open, diverse and competitive legal sector. With more than 190,000 solicitors and some 10,200 law firms to oversee, high professional standards are the priority.
The role of the regulatory board is to oversee the work of the regulator as they regulate more than 150,000 practising solicitors and 10,000 firms across England and Wales.The board currently consists of 11 members, of whom four are female and one is from a BAME background. Applications for vacancies close on 22 September.
Member responsibilities for the regulator includes setting their strategic direction, making sure issues are explored from a range of viewpoints, and holding our executive to account for its performance.using key professional services, including legal, from the perspective of a small business
offering support and advice to consumers competition within markets in
a relevant academic field.
Legal Services
The SRA said it wants applicants who have provided legal services through an alternative business structure, or practised in a high street firm. They said they also want people from an organisation that provide digital or online advice, or come from a relevant academic field, are also being encouraged to apply.
Applicants without a legal background are expected to have either used professional services from the perspective of a small business, offered support and advice to consumers, or have experience of competition within markets.
The vacancies arose after existing members of the board came to the end of their term. The SRA said it wants to reflect the communities that solicitors serve and the diversity of the profession itself.
Appetite
The regulator which ensures the accountability of lawyers across legal firms in the Uk said it wants applicants to have an ‘appetite for contributing to strategic change, a demonstrable commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion and enthusiasm for acting as an ambassador externally and within the organisation’.
Anna Bradley, chair of the SRA Board, said: ‘I am keen that we bring real diversity to our thinking, whether that is diversity of race, of gender, or of thought and culture.
‘That’s key to delivering what is a busy and dynamic programme of work as we bed in a comprehensive reform programme, transform the way that would-be solicitors qualify and support the sector to make the most of technology.’
Salaries for the roles are ‘competitive’. The most recent costs statement produced by the SRA, covering the 2018/19 year to the end of October, showed that total salary costs and expenses for board members was £380,000. The board, consists of 11 members, of whom four are female and one is from a BAME background. Applications for vacancies close on 22 September.