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The Legal Profession and Regulation for SQE1

Part of our SQE1 Legal System guide → View the full SQE1 Legal System guide

06 May 2026

Understand the regulatory framework for solicitors and barristers, reserved activities, and professional obligations—essential for SQE1 success.

The Legal Profession and Regulation for SQE1

The Legal System > The Legal Profession and Regulation

Questions about the legal profession and its regulatory framework appear across the SQE1 exam, particularly in the Legal System and Legal Services modules. You need to understand the roles, the regulators, and the professional obligations that apply.

What Is the Legal Profession and Its Regulation?

SQE1 candidates frequently confuse the SRA and BSB, or incorrectly state that all barristers can conduct litigation without specific authorisation—mistakes that appear in professional conduct scenarios and regulatory questions. The legal profession in England and Wales is divided into two main branches: solicitors and barristers. Each branch is regulated by a different body, but both operate within a framework established by the Legal Services Act 2007. The Act created the Legal Services Board (LSB) as an overarching regulator and identified eight 'reserved legal activities' that can only be carried out by authorised persons.

Key Principles for SQE1

  • Solicitors: regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA); provide direct client advice, handle transactions, and may have rights of audience in certain courts.

  • Barristers: regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB); primarily provide specialist advocacy and legal opinions; instructed by solicitors or, in some cases, directly by the public (public access).

  • Legal Services Board (LSB): the oversight regulator created by the Legal Services Act 2007; supervises the SRA, BSB, and other approved regulators.

  • Reserved legal activities: rights of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate activities, notarial activities, and administration of oaths—only authorised persons may carry these out (section 12, Legal Services Act 2007). Understanding reserved activities is essential when assessing access to justice and funding problems.

  • SRA Principles: include acting in a way that upholds public trust, acting with independence, acting with integrity, and acting in the best interests of each client. These principles are tested in professional conduct scenarios across the legal system.

  • SRA Code of Conduct: sets out the standards of behaviour and competence expected of solicitors and firms.

  • The cab-rank rule: applies to barristers—they must accept instructions within their competence and availability, regardless of personal views about the client or the case.

How This Appears in SQE1 Questions

This is a classic SQE1 trap. Questions often test whether you can identify the correct regulator for a solicitor or barrister, recognise reserved legal activities, or apply the SRA Principles in a professional conduct scenario. A common trap is confusing the roles—for instance, suggesting that all barristers have an automatic right to conduct litigation (they do not, unless specifically authorised). Questions may also test the regulatory hierarchy, asking whether the SRA or the LSB has authority in a particular situation.

Quick Example Scenario

A solicitor discovers that a long-standing client has been providing misleading information to the court in ongoing litigation. The solicitor is unsure whether to continue acting. What should the solicitor do?

Under the SRA Principles, the solicitor must act with integrity and uphold public trust. The SRA Code of Conduct requires the solicitor not to mislead the court. The solicitor should advise the client to correct the misleading information. If the client refuses, the solicitor should consider ceasing to act, as continuing could involve the solicitor in a breach of professional obligations.

Common Mistakes Students Make

  • Confusing the SRA (regulates solicitors) with the BSB (regulates barristers).
  • Stating that barristers can conduct litigation by default—most cannot without specific authorisation.
  • Forgetting that the Legal Services Board oversees the SRA and BSB, not the other way around.
  • Overlooking reserved legal activities and assuming that anyone can carry out legal work.

Quick Summary

  • Solicitors: regulated by the SRA; provide direct client advice, handle transactions, may have rights of audience in certain courts
  • Barristers: regulated by the Bar Standards Board (BSB); primarily provide specialist advocacy and legal opinions; instructed by solicitors or (in public access cases) directly by the public
  • Legal Services Board (LSB): the oversight regulator supervising the SRA, BSB and other approved regulators
  • Reserved legal activities: rights of audience, conduct of litigation, reserved instrument activities, probate, notarial activities, oaths - only authorised persons may carry these out
  • SRA Principles: act in way that upholds public trust, act with independence, act with integrity, act in best interests of each client
  • Cab-rank rule: applies to barristers - must accept instructions within their competence and availability regardless of personal views about client or case
  • Not all barristers have automatic right to conduct litigation unless specifically authorised
  • Giving legal advice is not a reserved legal activity; any unqualified person can provide advice

Exam tip

A common trap is confusing the SRA (solicitors) with the BSB (barristers). Also remember that most barristers cannot conduct litigation unless specifically authorised, and not all solicitors have automatic rights of audience in higher courts.

Want to test this now? Try a few SQE1-style questions below before moving on.

Test Yourself

Test yourself

Quick check questions based on this article.

Question 1

Scenario

A trainee solicitor at a large commercial law firm is asked by a partner to explain the regulatory structure of the legal profession in England and Wales. The partner specifically asks the trainee to identify which body is responsible for setting the overall regulatory framework for legal services and which body directly regulates solicitors. The trainee recalls that the Legal Services Act 2007 established a new regulatory framework and created an oversight regulator. The trainee also remembers that solicitors are regulated by a front-line regulator that sets the standards of professional conduct. The trainee also considers the role of the Office for Legal Complaints in handling consumer complaints about legal services. The Legal Services Board publishes annual reports on the performance of approved regulators. The trainee notes that the regulatory framework was designed to promote competition and improve standards in legal services.

Which of the following correctly identifies the oversight regulator and the front-line regulator of solicitors?

Question 2

Scenario

A solicitor is instructed by a client to act in a complex tax avoidance scheme. During the initial consultation, the solicitor becomes aware that the scheme involves routing funds through several offshore entities in a manner that the solicitor suspects may constitute tax evasion rather than legitimate tax avoidance. The client insists that the scheme is entirely legal and has been approved by their accountant. The solicitor's firm has an established relationship with the client, who is a significant source of revenue. The firm's senior partner encourages the solicitor to proceed with the instructions, noting that the client's accountant has confirmed the scheme's legality. The solicitor is uncertain about the distinction between tax avoidance and tax evasion in this context. The solicitor considers the firm's obligations under anti-money laundering legislation and the SRA Standards and Regulations. The solicitor is aware that the firm has a nominated money laundering reporting officer. The solicitor also notes that the firm must maintain records demonstrating that enhanced due diligence was carried out. The firm's compliance procedures require sign-off from the MLRO before any client engagement can commence where enhanced due diligence is required.

Which of the following best describes the solicitor's immediate obligation upon suspecting that the scheme may constitute tax evasion?

Question 3

Scenario

A solicitor acting for a client in a commercial transaction discovers that the transaction may involve a breach of financial sanctions imposed under UK legislation. The client's counterparty is a company that the solicitor suspects is owned or controlled by a designated person subject to asset-freezing measures. The solicitor has not yet completed the transaction. The client is unaware of the sanctions issue and is pressing the solicitor to complete the transaction urgently. The solicitor's firm does not have a dedicated sanctions compliance team, but the solicitor is aware of the firm's general obligations under financial sanctions legislation. The solicitor considers whether to proceed with the transaction, seek advice from the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, or report the matter internally. The solicitor is also uncertain about the consequences of proceeding with the transaction without checking the sanctions position. The solicitor reviews the HM Treasury's consolidated list of financial sanctions targets. The firm's professional indemnity insurer has asked whether the firm has adequate sanctions screening procedures in place. The client's counterparty operates in a jurisdiction that has been subject to sectoral sanctions.

Which of the following best describes the solicitor's obligations in relation to the potential financial sanctions issue?

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