Wednesday, October 7th, 2026, 11:18 am
Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and Conflicts of Interest
Filed under: Hard to pretend it ain’t happening
recently learned that the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) will take a privilege ruling to the UK Supreme Court. Being the SRA, it’ll probably end up being a waste of British people’s money with no serious outcome.
Over the past 3 years I’ve had a lot of hands-on experience with the legal system here. This week, for example, I’ve learned that “Court of Appeal Judges are senior judges with lengthy judicial experience. Appointment is by The King on the recommendation of a selection panel convened by the Judicial Appointments Commission.” In the High Court, judges are forced to retire at age 75.
I learned that many judges are in fact barristers. Some of them get gradually elevated to that role, with or without “Silk” (KC), but there is still potential for conflict of interest due to past loyalties or old colleagues (who might still be close friends).
The SRA has a similar “revolving doors” problem; many who work at the SRA came from law firms and many people inside law firms used to work for the SRA. Many solicitors and barristers once worked for the government (e.g. Home Office or Ministry of Justice).
How do we tackle this issue without ‘insulting’ people?
