13 October 2010
All solicitors.
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Rule 7 of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct (the Code) was amended on 31 March 2009 as part of a general updating of the rules to introduce firm-based regulation and legal disciplinary practices as provided for in the Legal Services Act 2007. Rule 7.07 of the Code sets out new requirements for the information that firms must provide on letterheads, websites, emails and certain types of promotional material.
This practice note explains the terms you must include in order to comply with the new requirements.
If your firm is a recognised body, or you are a sole practitioner, and your firm is established in the UK, you must include the following on your letterheads, website and e-mails:
Rule 7.07 also applies to any promotional material in 'business' e-mails, such as the name and description of your firm.
You should also provide the following link to the SRA rules on websites and emails:
SRA Code of Conduct page
Under the Companies (Trading Disclosures) Regulations 2008 , your company must also state the following on business letters and websites:
Further information related to requirements for companies can be found on the Business Link website.
If your firm is established in another Establishment Directive State , you must state the professional body under which you are regulated and provide details of the applicable rules on websites and emails .
As websites can be accessed from anywhere in the world, your firm's website must comply with the E-Commerce Directive if it is established anywhere within the European Union.
It is likely that emails will only be regarded as 'business letters' under the 2008 Regulations when they are formally set out as such, and not when they are used in place of a telephone call or other such communication.
However, in order to ensure full compliance with rule 7.07 you should provide your practising address and the details that would normally appear on your firm's letterhead (see section 3) in all early stage email communications to third parties.
Some of the requirements relate only to information that must be provided on letterheads and fax headings. They vary depending on the type of firm in which you practice.
In letterheads and fax headings a partnership must provide:
In line with rule 7.01, letterheads and fax headings must not mislead clients by wrongly presenting solicitors as partners. Those held out as partners may find themselves being treated as full partners by the SRA, even if they have not entered into a partnership agreement. Placing a line between partners and non-partners is not sufficient - the distinction should be clearly labelled within your list.
In letterheads and fax headings LLPs must provide one of the following:
You should not present non-members of a LLP as 'partners', unless:
In these circumstances you should include a clear definition of the specific arrangement referred to by the word 'partner'.
On letterheads and fax headings companies must provide the following information:
Companies sometimes describe participants in the practice as 'partners'. This may be misleading, and you should not refer to someone as a 'partner' of your company, unless:
Again, in these circumstances you should include a clear definition of the specific arrangement referred to by the word 'partner'.
From 1 January 2010 sole practitioners must provide their name on their firm's letterhead and fax headings.
If the managers of your firm include persons other than solicitors, any list included on letterheads and fax headings must identify any solicitor as a solicitor. You must also
In the case of lawyers or notaries from the EU (excluding the UK), Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland you must provide the following information on letterheads and fax headings:
For lawyers or notaries from other countries (Registered Foreign Lawyers), you must provide details of their professional qualification(s) and their country or jurisdiction of qualification.
Branch offices or departments must also include your firm's SRA recognised name and registration number on correspondence. However, rule 7.07 does not apply to any practice conducted from an office outside of England and Wales, nor to an REL's practice conducted from an office in Scotland or Northern Ireland.
You must comply with the general law on advertising when providing information on correspondence and promotional material. The following list signposts the relevant requirements:
The following sections of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 are relevant to this issue:
See section 5 for a list of other legal requirements that you must comply with.
The Law Society provides support for solicitors on a wide range of areas of practice. Practice Advice can be contacted on 0870 606 2522 from 09:00 to 17:00 on weekdays.
Practice notes are issued by the Law Society for the use and benefit of its members. They represent the Law Society's view of good practice in a particular area. They are not intended to be the only standard of good practice that solicitors can follow. You are not required to follow them, but doing so will make it easier to account to oversight bodies for your actions.
Practice notes are not legal advice, nor do they necessarily provide a defence to complaints of misconduct or of inadequate professional service. While care has been taken to ensure that they are accurate, up to date and useful, the Law Society will not accept any legal liability in relation to them.
For queries or comments on this practice note contact the Law Society's Practice Advice Service .
Must - a specific requirement in the Solicitor's Code of Conduct or legislation. You must comply, unless there specific exemptions or defences provided for in the code of conduct or relevant legislation.
Should - good practice for most situations in the Law Society's view. If you do not follow this, you must be able to justify to oversight bodies why this is appropriate, either for your practice, or in the particular retainer.
May - a non-exhaustive list of options for meeting your obligations. Which option you choose is determined by the risk profile of the individual practice, client or retainer. You must be able to justify why this was an appropriate option to oversight bodies.
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