Ruth Cohen, Legal and Research Executive
By Legal Futures’ Associate VinciWorks
Posted by Legal and Research Executive Ruth Cohen
The SRA Handbook is being replaced by the SRA Standards and Regulations, which will be in force from November 2019. The focus of the reforms is on each legal professional being able to justify their actions in all work that they carry out.
To help firms prepare their entire staff for the new Standards and Regulations, VinciWorks has released five new interactive courses. The new SRA training includes both courses for all staff, such as SRA Standards and Regulations: Fundamentals, and courses that apply to specific roles, such as SRA Advanced: Accounts Rules for accounts staff. Written in clear, plain language, the training includes many examples and scenarios taken directly from the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) decisions.
SRA Standards and Regulations training – Core features
- Customisable as-standard
- Unique “course builder” questions deliver role-specific training
- Scenario-based quizzes test knowledge and understanding throughout the course
- A personalised guide to download at the end of the course
- Specialised advanced courses for accounts staff, owners, partners and compliance officers
- “Self-reflection” questions that users can refer to when completing their continuing competence record
Which SRA course should you enrol your staff in?
To ensure that all staff, including support staff, are aware of their responsibilities in upholding the new Standards and Regulations, it is recommended that firms enrol their staff in different courses depending on their role in the firm.
SRA Standards and Regulations: Fundamentals
Audience: All staff
Duration: 25-60 minutes
The course dynamically creates a personalised learning experience based on an individual’s role in a law firm. This ensures everyone taking the course will learn what they need to know, and not waste time reviewing areas irrelevant to their practice. SRA Standards and Regulations: Fundamentals begins with a short “course builder”, a tick-box section for users to select which roles in the firm apply to them. For example, a user who ticks the box “I deal with insurance distribution activities” will receive a course that includes guidance and questions on the Insurance Distribution Directive.
SRA Standards and Regulations: What’s Changed?
Audience: All staff
Duration: 10 minutes
This short course will help legal professionals, including support staff, to develop an understanding of the differences between the SRA Standards and Regulations, introduced in 2019, with the previous SRA Handbook and regulatory framework. The course highlights the changes in the SRA’s regulation of firms and individuals, and is intended for learners who are familiar with SRA regulation and principles.
SRA Advanced: Managing Clients and Matters
Audience: All staff
Duration: 60 minutes
This course will help staff develop an understanding of the relevant regulations which apply to them when dealing with client matters in a law firm. The course ensures that all employees of an SRA regulated law firm, who have a responsibility as well as a legal obligation to follow the rules in the SRA Standards and Regulations, have sufficient knowledge to stay compliant, and to manage clients in an appropriate manner. A unique feature of this course is Pop-ups stipulating which of the SRA Rules and Regulations each section applies to.
SRA Advanced: Accounts Rules
Audience: Accounts staff
Duration: 15 minutes
Using real-life examples of SRA accounts rules breaches, this course dynamically creates a relevant learning experience for account’s staff in a law firm. The training will help legal professionals who deal with Client Accounts on a regular basis, including support staff, develop an understanding of the relevant regulations which apply to their specific account’s role in the law firm.
SRA Advanced: Compliance at Your Firm
Audience: Compliance Officers, Managers and Partners
Duration: 15 minutes
Tailored specifically for Compliance Officers, Managers and Partners in a firm, this course covers the sections of the SRA Standards and Regulations that are relevant to their role. This is primarily those included in the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms. Still incorporating the features of the other four courses, SRA Advanced: Compliance at Your Firm uses real-life examples of SRA breaches and dynamically creates a relevant learning experience for the user.
