The Legal Services Board has set out new expectations for legal services regulators in England and Wales aimed at strengthening lawyers’ ethical standards and reinforcing their role in upholding the rule of law. The LSB says regulators must place professional ethical duties at the heart of how lawyers are expected to behave, and has confirmed that where duties conflict, lawyers must prioritise their duties to the court and the rule of law over their duty to the client.
The new expectations focus on three areas: more consistent education and training in ethics, clearer and more practical regulatory guidance, and stronger workplace support for lawyers in upholding professional standards. The LSB says these measures are intended to help lawyers recognise and act on their ethical duties in complex real-world situations.
The work responds to concerns about situations where ethical duties may come under pressure, including the misuse of non-disclosure agreements, strategic lawsuits against public participation, and the risk of lawyers facilitating economic crime. Regulators will have up to six months to develop plans to meet the new expectations in the context of their own regulated communities.