© strawberrywaffles 2025
SRA framework
- Authorises organisations to provide legal services – required for:
o Reserved legal activities (unless exempt)
▪ E.g. certain charities under s.23(3) LSA are exempt from needing
authorisation to carry out such activities
o Immigration services (unless regulated by the OISC)
o Claims management services (unless regulated by FCA)
o Regulated financial activities (unless regulated by FCA)
- Sets & enforces standards for solicitors
- Disciplinary matters
Even if a business doesn’t need to be authorised, it may choose to be authorised to reassure
clients that they will be protected by the SRA (e.g. indemnity insurance).
Costs lawyers are only regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board and not the SRA!!
Reserved legal activities – PRINLO
- Probate activities i.e. preparing probate papers to found/oppose the grant of probate
or letters of administration
o Does not include will writing
- Rights of audience
- Instrument activities e.g. preparing instruments of transfer/charge to land and other
instruments relating to real/personal estate (property/real estate lawyers)
- Notarial activities
- Litigation
- Oath administration
SRA regulates all reserved legal activities, except notarial activities which are regulated by
the Master of the Faculties.
- SRA-regulated solicitors can carry out all reserved legal activities except notarial
activities
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
- NB: authorisation for reserved legal activities can be given by any approved regulator
(e.g. SRA, Council of Licensed Conveyancers)
Chartered legal executives (qualified under CILex) can carry out some reserved legal activities
unsupervised, and others with supervision by a solicitor or authorised person.
- Can carry out the reserved legal activities that their supervisor is authorised to do
- CILex members may work on reserved legal activities unsupervised if they have
qualified as CILex practitioners in those specific areas and gained practice rights
- Can only conduct advocacy in lower courts and chambers
SRA-authorised freelance solicitors can carry out all reserved legal activities except notarial
activities, provided the solicitor’s organisation is registered as a sole practice or they provide
reserved legal activities through an authorised body.
- Exception: freelance solicitor is 3 years PQE + has adequate & appropriate PII
o No need to be registered as a sole practice
It is a criminal offence to act as a solicitor without a practising certificate.
- Does not matter if they are carrying out reserved legal activities
- NB: can be admitted to the roll of solicitors without a practising certificate
Professional indemnity insurance (PII)
SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules 3.1: must take out “appropriate and adequate cover in
respect of current and past practice, taking into account any alternative arrangements the
body or its clients may make.”
- Must update insurers immediately of any changes to risk profile
Required by the SRA for all SRA-regulated bodies.
- Freelance solicitors undertaking non-reserved legal activities do not need PII
- Freelance solicitors undertaking reserved legal activities need PII
- If firm is notified of a claim against them, notify insurer immediately
, © strawberrywaffles 2025
- If client suffers loss due to a breach (e.g. no PII), may have recourse to the SRA
Compensation Fund
o SRA Compensation Fund only available to SRA-regulated bodies/solicitors
- Minimum sum insured for any one claim (excluding defence costs) must be £3m for
SRA-regulated bodies
o Also depends on what is “appropriate and adequate” based on risk profile
o Must have no monetary limit on cover for defence costs
▪ Liability for defence costs in relation to a claim that exceeds the sum
insured is limited to the proportion that the sum insured bears to the
total amount paid/payable to dispose of the claim
o £2m for non-SRA regulated bodies (e.g. freelance solicitors)
- If the insurer becomes insolvent, find new insurance as soon as reasonably
practicable and in any event within 4 weeks of the insolvency
When the policy expires, firm enters into an Extended Policy Period (EPP)
- Firm can practise normally for 30 days after the policy’s expiry date
o Can take on new clients & act for current clients
- EPP provides further indemnity cover by the last-named insurer for another 90 days
after the policy’s expiry date
- Firms that enter EPP must inform SRA within 5 business days
- Firms in EPP after 30 days enter a Cessation Period and must inform SRA
o Can still work on already-taken instructions
o Cannot take on any new clients
o Must seek to cease practice promptly and no later than 90 days from the date
on which it entered the EPP
- Any new insurance entered into during EPP must be backdated & inform SRA
- The firm must draw up parallel plans to ensure that, should it not gain cover, it can
close in an orderly manner at the end of the 90 days
If there is a breach of indemnity insurance rules, principal will be liable
- Sole practice: sole principal alone is liable
- Partner in partnership
- Director/beneficial owner in company
- Member/owner in LLP
SRA framework
- Authorises organisations to provide legal services – required for:
o Reserved legal activities (unless exempt)
▪ E.g. certain charities under s.23(3) LSA are exempt from needing
authorisation to carry out such activities
o Immigration services (unless regulated by the OISC)
o Claims management services (unless regulated by FCA)
o Regulated financial activities (unless regulated by FCA)
- Sets & enforces standards for solicitors
- Disciplinary matters
Even if a business doesn’t need to be authorised, it may choose to be authorised to reassure
clients that they will be protected by the SRA (e.g. indemnity insurance).
Costs lawyers are only regulated by the Costs Lawyer Standards Board and not the SRA!!
Reserved legal activities – PRINLO
- Probate activities i.e. preparing probate papers to found/oppose the grant of probate
or letters of administration
o Does not include will writing
- Rights of audience
- Instrument activities e.g. preparing instruments of transfer/charge to land and other
instruments relating to real/personal estate (property/real estate lawyers)
- Notarial activities
- Litigation
- Oath administration
SRA regulates all reserved legal activities, except notarial activities which are regulated by
the Master of the Faculties.
- SRA-regulated solicitors can carry out all reserved legal activities except notarial
activities
,© strawberrywaffles 2025
- NB: authorisation for reserved legal activities can be given by any approved regulator
(e.g. SRA, Council of Licensed Conveyancers)
Chartered legal executives (qualified under CILex) can carry out some reserved legal activities
unsupervised, and others with supervision by a solicitor or authorised person.
- Can carry out the reserved legal activities that their supervisor is authorised to do
- CILex members may work on reserved legal activities unsupervised if they have
qualified as CILex practitioners in those specific areas and gained practice rights
- Can only conduct advocacy in lower courts and chambers
SRA-authorised freelance solicitors can carry out all reserved legal activities except notarial
activities, provided the solicitor’s organisation is registered as a sole practice or they provide
reserved legal activities through an authorised body.
- Exception: freelance solicitor is 3 years PQE + has adequate & appropriate PII
o No need to be registered as a sole practice
It is a criminal offence to act as a solicitor without a practising certificate.
- Does not matter if they are carrying out reserved legal activities
- NB: can be admitted to the roll of solicitors without a practising certificate
Professional indemnity insurance (PII)
SRA Indemnity Insurance Rules 3.1: must take out “appropriate and adequate cover in
respect of current and past practice, taking into account any alternative arrangements the
body or its clients may make.”
- Must update insurers immediately of any changes to risk profile
Required by the SRA for all SRA-regulated bodies.
- Freelance solicitors undertaking non-reserved legal activities do not need PII
- Freelance solicitors undertaking reserved legal activities need PII
- If firm is notified of a claim against them, notify insurer immediately
, © strawberrywaffles 2025
- If client suffers loss due to a breach (e.g. no PII), may have recourse to the SRA
Compensation Fund
o SRA Compensation Fund only available to SRA-regulated bodies/solicitors
- Minimum sum insured for any one claim (excluding defence costs) must be £3m for
SRA-regulated bodies
o Also depends on what is “appropriate and adequate” based on risk profile
o Must have no monetary limit on cover for defence costs
▪ Liability for defence costs in relation to a claim that exceeds the sum
insured is limited to the proportion that the sum insured bears to the
total amount paid/payable to dispose of the claim
o £2m for non-SRA regulated bodies (e.g. freelance solicitors)
- If the insurer becomes insolvent, find new insurance as soon as reasonably
practicable and in any event within 4 weeks of the insolvency
When the policy expires, firm enters into an Extended Policy Period (EPP)
- Firm can practise normally for 30 days after the policy’s expiry date
o Can take on new clients & act for current clients
- EPP provides further indemnity cover by the last-named insurer for another 90 days
after the policy’s expiry date
- Firms that enter EPP must inform SRA within 5 business days
- Firms in EPP after 30 days enter a Cessation Period and must inform SRA
o Can still work on already-taken instructions
o Cannot take on any new clients
o Must seek to cease practice promptly and no later than 90 days from the date
on which it entered the EPP
- Any new insurance entered into during EPP must be backdated & inform SRA
- The firm must draw up parallel plans to ensure that, should it not gain cover, it can
close in an orderly manner at the end of the 90 days
If there is a breach of indemnity insurance rules, principal will be liable
- Sole practice: sole principal alone is liable
- Partner in partnership
- Director/beneficial owner in company
- Member/owner in LLP
