The Law Society is to conduct research on the feasibility of establishing a standalone defence union to support members hauled before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Funding representation from Society funds has been ruled out, on the ground that this is not a permissible use of members’ money under the 2007 Legal Services Act. Chancery Lane also believes directly funding defences against SRA proceedings would ‘undermine public confidence in the profession and pose risks with the potential to compromise the Society’s reputation for upholding standards’.

These are among the conclusions of a special committee of inquiry set up by the Society’s governing council in May 2024 to consider extra support for solicitors subject to disciplinary proceedings. The initiative was originally proposed by Paul Sharma, Council member for Central London, who has since died.

SDT proceedings can have severe consequences for solicitors, as the committee acknowledged, including significant financial costs, reputational harm and wellbeing impacts. Respondents typically bear their own defence costs, which are rarely recoverable from the SRA, and usually SRA prosecution costs too - along with fines and higher professional indemnity insurance premiums. Insurance for defence costs is generally excluded from PII minimum terms.