In March 2026, we published our statement of policy “Upholding Professional Ethical Duties”.
This page explains the work that led to that statement of policy.
Background
Supporting the rule of law is a regulatory objective we share with the frontline regulators. Ensuring high-quality services and strong professional ethics is also a priority in our sector-wide strategy, Reshaping Legal Services.
Lawyers play a vital public role as guardians of the rule of law. Yet the behaviours that support or undermine this responsibility are not always clear. Recent concerns, such as the misuse of nondisclosure agreements (NDAs) and Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), show where ethical challenges can arise.
Our programme of work aims to:
- clarify expectations of legal professionals
- strengthen regulation
- support ethical decision-making across the profession.
Establishing the PERL programme
In 2023, we set up the Professional Ethics and the Rule of Law (PERL) Reference Group.
This brought together voices from across the sector to explore behaviours that may be inconsistent with upholding the rule of law, and to understand the pressures lawyers face when balancing duties to clients, the courts, and society.
Meeting notes:
- First meeting (27 March 2023)
- Second meeting (21 November 2023)
- Third meeting (15 July 2024)
- Fourth meeting (7 May 2025)
New research on regulation and the rule of law
Also in 2023, we also published independent research by Professor Richard Moorhead and Professor Steven Vaughan. Their report examined how legal professionals uphold the rule of law in practice.
It identified behaviours that can undermine this commitment, including:
- discriminating against potential clients
- representing likely wrongdoers in a way that supports their continued wrongdoing
- taking unfair advantage of others, including through SLAPP-type activity
- silencing of claimants through the misuse of NDAs
- facilitating ‘creative compliance with the law’
The authors said that “the rule of law depends on the independence and integrity of its regulated practitioners. Professional ethics is central, not subsidiary, to the rule of law and something in which the professions, regulators, courts, business, and the public all share an interest.”
The report emphasised the need to build and use evidence to shape regulation and workplace practices, and to understand challenges at both organisational and individual levels.
Call for evidence on the misuse of NDAs
Concerns about NDAs led us to examine how they may be used to:
- conceal wrongdoing
- intimidate individuals
- prevent transparency.
In 2023, we launched a call-for-evidence on how legal professionals advise on, draft and use NDAs, and whether current practice aligns with ethical duties.
In 2024, we published a summary report. The findings supported the themes emerging from the PERL programme and the Moorhead and Vaughan report.
Consultation and further evidence
In 2025, we drafted our statement of policy on “Upholding professional ethical duties”.
We consulted on the draft between March and May of that year.
The consultation attracted the highest number of responses of any LSB consultation to date. We used this feedback to refine the policy, drawing also on a wider evidence base that included:
- further reports
- information requests
- evidence from the Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry
- other sources, as described in our consultation response.
Final policy statement
We published the final statement in March 2026, alongside:
Implementation and next steps
The statement of policy takes effect from 26 March 2026.
We expect regulators to complete their pre-implementation phase by 30 September 2026 with production of an action plan and/or other suitable arrangements for meeting Outcomes 1 to 3.
We expect regulators to meet Outcomes 1 to 3 and the attendant expectations by no later than 30 March 2028.
We then expect that all regulators will be able to meet and demonstrate work against Outcomes 4 and 5 by no later than 30 March 2030.
We also intend to use our convening role to bring regulators together through a new Professional Ethics Network (PEN).