Since the Board last met in November, the LSB team has made strong progress across several key areas of our work. Our February meeting therefore covered a wide range of issues that are central to how we make sure that legal services regulation can protect consumers and support the public interest.
SRA: public censure and performance targets
In October 2025, we published the report of an independent review of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)’s regulation of the SSB group. At that time, we announced that we were starting the statutory processes for two sanctions against the SRA: a public censure and the introduction of performance targets and monitoring.
These actions were necessary because the SRA had failed to act on clear warning signs about SSB. As a result, consumers experienced both financial and emotional harm.
At our February meeting, Board members approved the statement of censure and the direction to set performance targets, which have now been published. You can read the full announcement online.
This censure is a clear public statement that the standard of regulation we saw was not acceptable. The SRA has accepted the findings of the review and committed to implementing its recommendations. Now it must demonstrate, through its actions, that it has fundamentally changed its approach and that it is committed to, and capable of, effectively protecting consumers.
Regulatory oversight
In our recent business plan consultation, we committed to revising how we oversee frontline regulators. Our aim is to make sure that we are proportionate, risk-based, and targeted – able to direct our attention and resources to areas of concern, while reducing burdens on those performing well.
The Board received an update on this work in the meeting. We will now move towards implementation, beginning with discussions with the regulators. We want to ensure our approach is dynamic and adaptable in future. We will therefore seek feedback as we move forwards with our revised approach, and we look forward to hearing people’s thoughts.
PERL moves towards publication
Our professional ethics and the rule of law (PERL) project is also approaching a major milestone: publication of our response to last year’s consultation and the final policy statement.
At the meeting, Board members considered changes to the draft policy statement to take account of feedback provided via consultation and approved a final version for publication.
These are important steps in strengthening how lawyers understand and uphold their ethical duties. Feedback from the consultation endorsed our view that lawyers must be supported by workplace cultures that equip them to make the right decisions, particularly under pressure. We look forward to sharing more soon.
PM Law: our actions so far
I want to draw readers’ attention to a specific item within the Chief Executive’s report: an update on our actions following the SRA’s intervention into PM Law Ltd. on 4 February.
We subsequently wrote to the SRA to request:
- a chronology of events from when PM Law Group was first identified as posing a potential risk to consumers through to the intervention
- what the SRA is doing to check whether other consumers may be at risk, and what action it is taking to protect them.
We will hold an additional Board meeting in March on this issue. Protecting consumers is central to our role, so understanding what happened – and what, if anything, may need to change – will be critical.
LSB Public Bodies Review
On 10 February, the Ministry of Justice announced the start of our Public Bodies Review. These reviews take place periodically for all arm’s-length‑ bodies of government; ours was last conducted in 2017.
We were pleased to be joined at our meeting by the Lead Reviewer, Richard Lloyd, who outlined his brief and the review’s terms of reference. The review will consider our statutory remit, strategic clarity, governance and accountability arrangements, and our ability to deliver our remit.
We look forward to working with Richard and his team as we reflect on the positive impact of our work, our role supporting independent legal services regulation, and the ways in which we can continue to improve and learn from others.
Catherine Brown
Interim Chair of the LSB
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