Plans to bolster competency training for solicitors are crucial to ensuring injured people receive the best possible legal help, APIL has said.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is consulting on proposals to strengthen expertise requirements.
“Solicitors would need to keep much more detailed records of their training, and must demonstrate how they have identified and reached their learning and development goals. It would provide much stronger evidence that solicitors have reached the level of competency that their clients need and deserve,” said Matthew Tuff, immediate past president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
“APIL’s own highly respected accreditation scheme for personal injury lawyers is based on competency and reassures personal injury victims that their legal representatives have the essential expertise and experience they need. We’re pleased that the SRA wants existing, successful training schemes, like APIL’s accreditation scheme, to continue,” he said.
“The SRA wants mandatory discussions on ethics to take place. Our members say firms already undertake discussions with staff, so these need not be as rigid as the three hours a year the SRA suggests. It should be for firms to certify, as part of the declaration when they renew their practise certificates, that ethics discussions in whatever form they deem appropriate, have taken place with staff,” he said.
“We also urge the SRA to flag warning notices or guidance notes so they are seen by all who need to see them. Our solicitor members say they often only find out about new important directives through their own monitoring. Flagging anything new would help to ensure solicitors do not miss important information,” Matthew said.