An in-house solicitor had to quit their job after raising concerns that the organisation was breaching their legal duties, major new research published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.

The regulator surveyed more than 1,200 in-house solicitors to understand the main issues affecting the growing sector.

The review found that, overall, in-house solicitors were in a good position to withstand pressures that could affect their ability to provide objective and impartial advice. However, 5% of respondents had been pressured into suppressing information that conflicted with their regulatory obligations and 10% felt their regulatory obligations were compromised trying to meet organisation priorities.

One solicitor told the survey they frequently had to educate or remind colleagues about their regulatory obligations and that regulatory compliance ‘is standard business practice which doesn't make us uncommercial’.

Another respondent said: ‘The organisation I worked for was engaged in practices I considered were likely to result in breaches of their legal duties. It required me as a solicitor to report as an officer of the court. I raised concerns with the senior leadership and as a result had to leave the organisation.’

Nearly all respondents said they felt comfortable saying 'no' if asked to advise on an unethical course of action.

One leader said: ‘My job is to keep my colleagues out of prison - you have to think, there but for the grace of god - and of course, no one wants that. It's not like you have to agree with the boss. My responsibility is to the court. I am here to help and protect you but I also have to wear different hats sometimes. In my role sometimes you are enabling people to get on and other times you have to advise them of the consequences should they do something. But usually it's a roundtable discussion.’

However, several respondents who felt their legal function was not valued frequently mentioned that their advice was ignored, misunderstood or challenged.

‘Legal advice is often challenged at all levels without understanding of the law or basis upon which advice is given. This is largely because they have already committed to a course of action and want legal advice to rubber stamp an approach,’ one respondent said.

Only a fifth of in-house teams had dedicated policies or procedures for ethical responsibilities.

In an example of good practice, one GC told the review their team started a gifts and hospitality register and are considering implementing a risk register. ‘We are very conscious of recent scandals, and we talk about it to try and learn from the wider issues in the public arena,’ the GC said.

Commenting on the findings, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the regulator will be doing a range of work to support in-house solicitors to ensure they and their employers understand their professional obligations.

 

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