The SRA Principles - Acting with honesty

Learning Outcomes

This article explains the SRA Principle of acting with honesty and its practical application in SQE2 scenarios, covering:

• The objective, two-stage test for dishonesty and why a solicitor’s subjective belief is irrelevant
• The duty not to mislead under the Code of Conduct (Para 1.4) and how omissions can be dishonest
• Distinguishing negligence or error from dishonest conduct in realistic fact patterns
• Typical dishonest behaviours in practice (e.g., backdating documents, fabricating notes, misusing client money, misleading about case progress)
• The interaction between honesty and integrity, and when lack of integrity falls short of dishonesty
• Managing conflicts where public interest Principles take precedence over client wishes
• Duties around undertakings, witnesses and evidence that engage honesty obligations
• Regulatory consequences and sanctions for dishonesty, including the SRA’s approach and SDT outcomes
• Reporting and compliance responsibilities (COLP/COFA) where dishonesty or client money risks arise
• Application to private life and conduct that may undermine public trust

SQE2 Syllabus

For SQE2, you are required to understand the Principle that solicitors must act with honesty, how dishonesty is assessed, and the real-world implications of breaches, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

• the requirement to act with honesty as a core SRA Principle
• how the objective test for dishonesty applies to solicitors’ conduct
• duties closely linked to honesty, particularly the duty not to mislead (Code of Conduct, Para 1.4)
• examples of conduct that may constitute dishonesty in legal practice
• the relationship between honesty and integrity, and key distinctions
• the consequences of failing to act honestly and the disciplinary process (SRA Enforcement Strategy; SDT sanctions)
• the precedence of public interest Principles where duties conflict, and the application to private conduct

Test Your Knowledge

Attempt these questions before reading this article. If you find some difficult or cannot remember the answers, remember to look more closely at that area during your revision.

1. What is the legal test for dishonesty in the context of solicitors' professional conduct?
2. Is it enough for a solicitor to avoid being found dishonest if they did not personally consider their conduct to be dishonest?
3. Which of the following is an example of acting dishonestly: (a) forgetting to pay a bill, (b) backdating documents, (c) inadequate cost estimation?
4. In the event a solicitor is found to have acted dishonestly, what sanctions may the SRA or SDT impose?

Introduction

The requirement to act with honesty is a fundamental SRA Principle for all solicitors in England and Wales. Dishonesty not only damages public trust but also has serious personal consequences for solicitors. You must understand how honesty is regulated, how dishonesty is assessed, and how to apply these rules in practice.

Honesty is required in all aspects of professional and personal life. Acting dishonestly will expose solicitors to disciplinary action, including being struck off the roll. Importantly, whether conduct is considered dishonest is not a matter of personal opinion but is assessed using an objective test applied by the courts, the SRA and the SDT.

Key Term: honesty
The quality of being truthful and straightforward in words and actions, as required by the SRA Principle for solicitors.

Key Term: dishonesty
Conduct that ordinary, decent people would consider dishonest, regardless of the solicitor’s subjective intentions.

Key Term: objective test for dishonesty
A two-stage assessment that first establishes the solicitor’s knowledge or belief about the facts, then asks whether their conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people.

Key Term: duty not to mislead
An obligation in the Code of Conduct (Para 1.4) not to mislead or attempt to mislead clients, the court, regulators or others, or be complicit in misleading by others.

Key Term: integrity
A broader professional standard than honesty, requiring scrupulous adherence to ethical norms and accuracy even when not strictly dishonest.

Key Term: undertaking
An enforceable promise by a solicitor to do (or refrain from doing) something, given orally or in writing to someone who reasonably relies on it.

The SRA Principle: Act with Honesty

The SRA Principles require all those regulated to act with honesty at all times, both in practice and outside work. This Principle is at the centre of public trust in the profession. The duty applies to all communications and conduct with clients, courts, regulators, counterparties and third parties, as well as to private actions that could undermine trust and confidence.

Solicitors must not mislead or attempt to mislead clients, courts, regulators, or others. Breaches can occur in direct dealings, written statements, or omissions that result in false impressions. Dishonesty includes lying; creating or backdating documents; fabricating attendance notes or certificates; hiding or destroying material evidence; and misusing client money. It also includes a failure to correct statements or records where a solicitor has been asked to confirm their accuracy and knows them to be wrong.

The SRA has made clear that, where Principles conflict, those safeguarding the wider public interest (for example upholding the rule of law and maintaining public trust in the profession) take precedence over an individual client’s interests. This is relevant when a client instructs you to act in a way that would mislead or hide the truth: the duty to act honestly and the duty to the court outrank the client’s wishes.

The Objective Test for Dishonesty

Dishonesty is judged by a two-part objective test, originating from civil and criminal case law and used consistently by the SRA and the SDT:

1. Ascertain the solicitor’s actual knowledge or belief about the facts at the relevant time. The belief does not need to be reasonable, but it must be genuinely held.
2. Decide, in light of that knowledge or belief, whether the solicitor’s conduct was dishonest by the standards of ordinary decent people.

The test is not concerned with whether the solicitor personally saw their actions as dishonest. It is how an informed observer would view the conduct that counts. Closing one’s eyes to obvious facts (“turning a blind eye”) may still lead to findings that the conduct was dishonest or, at minimum, lacked integrity. Stress, workload or fear of embarrassment are not defences to dishonesty.

Common analytical errors include:

• confusing negligence or poor service with dishonesty; negligence may breach competence duties but is not necessarily dishonest
• focusing on whether the solicitor thought they were acting acceptably, rather than on what they knew about the facts
• overlooking omissions: failing to correct a known false impression can be dishonest where reliance is expected (for example, when asked to confirm the accuracy of a record).

Typical Examples of Dishonesty

Common situations where dishonesty may arise include:

• lying to clients, colleagues, courts, or regulators about material facts
• altering, fabricating, or backdating documents to mislead others (including attendance notes and certificates)
• concealing errors or failures, especially if this prevents proper disclosure or prompts misleading assurances
• taking client money without authority, or using it for improper purposes
• misleading clients or opponents about the status or progress of their cases, or about procedural steps taken
• knowingly allowing the court to be misled (for example, by permitting a client to advance a false positive case)
• failing to correct inaccuracies when expressly asked to confirm them, thereby allowing a false impression to persist
• hiding referral fees or commissions and failing to account to clients, coupled with misleading statements about costs or arrangements.

Conduct such as poor time management or overcharging is not in itself dishonest unless accompanied by a deliberate attempt to hide or mislead. Similarly, a genuine mistake promptly corrected is unlikely to be dishonest, though it may raise other regulatory issues.

Worked Example 1.1

A solicitor discovers a critical deadline was missed in a client's matter. Rather than informing the client or the insurer, the solicitor fabricates correspondence to create the impression that proceedings were issued on time.

Answer:
This behaviour would be considered dishonest under the objective test. The solicitor knows the true facts and intentionally falsifies documents to create a misleading impression, which ordinary decent people would regard as dishonest.

Worked Example 1.2

A solicitor receives client money intended for completion of a transaction. Instead of using the money as instructed, the solicitor temporarily uses the funds to pay the firm's electricity bill, intending to replace the money before the client notices.

Answer:
This is dishonest. The solicitor is aware that the money is to be held for a specific purpose but uses it for other reasons. This misapplication of client funds would be seen as dishonest by ordinary decent people.

Exam Warning

Dishonesty is assessed on an objective test and the solicitor’s personal belief is irrelevant. If an SQE2 scenario asks whether a solicitor's conduct was dishonest, focus on what the solicitor knew about the facts and ask whether the conduct would be regarded as dishonest in society’s view. Do not conflate negligence or inadvertent error with dishonest conduct. Where a client admits facts that would make a defence false, the solicitor must not put forward a positive case that misleads the court; continuing to act is only permissible if the prosecution is put to proof and the defence does not assert false facts.

Consequences of Dishonesty

The SRA treats proven dishonesty as extremely serious. The usual sanction is striking off the roll, regardless of seniority or mitigation. Lesser sanctions are reserved for truly exceptional circumstances and must be justified by compelling factors. The SRA’s Enforcement Strategy identifies dishonesty and lack of integrity as being at the highest end of seriousness in a profession whose reputation depends on trust.

Disciplinary actions following a finding of dishonesty can include:

• striking off (removal from the profession)
• suspension
• prohibitions on working in the sector
• significant financial penalties
• restrictions or conditions on practice imposed by the SRA or SDT.

Dishonesty in private life can also engage Principle 2 (upholding public trust) and Principle 1 (upholding the rule of law and proper administration of justice). Examples include fraudulent schemes, offensive or abusive communications that involve false assertions, and criminal conduct indicating disregard for the law. The Principles apply outside practice; personal behaviour can lead to regulatory action.

Where a solicitor’s conduct is arguably dishonest and involves client money, managers and compliance officers (COLP/COFA) have duties to record and, where serious, report breaches promptly to the SRA. Firms must have systems to safeguard client money and to account for any financial benefits (for example, commissions) arising from instructions. Failures to account, coupled with misleading conduct, often give rise to dishonesty findings.

Worked Example 1.3

A solicitor forgets to issue an invoice for disbursements and, fearing the client will refuse to pay after learning of the failure, creates a false invoice with an earlier date.

Answer:
This is dishonest. Creating a false document to cover up a mistake would be found dishonest under the objective standard.

Worked Example 1.4

A defence solicitor is handed a record of a client’s previous convictions and is asked by the prosecutor to confirm its accuracy. The solicitor realises that the list omits relevant convictions and the court will rely on the document.

Answer:
When asked to confirm accuracy and aware of omissions, the solicitor must not mislead the court. If the client refuses consent to correct the record, the solicitor should withdraw for professional reasons while preserving confidentiality. Proceeding without correction would be dishonest (and a breach of Para 1.4).

Worked Example 1.5

In a residential conveyance, the solicitor acts for borrower and lender. The borrower has already agreed to sublet part of the property in breach of the lender’s standard mortgage terms, but instructs the solicitor not to tell the lender.

Answer:
Continuing without disclosure would mislead the lender and court if representations are made. The solicitor must seek borrower consent to disclose. If consent is refused, the solicitor should cease to act to avoid misleading. Proceeding in the knowledge of the breach would be dishonest by ordinary standards.

Worked Example 1.6

A private client solicitor refers the executor to a tax adviser and receives a commission. The solicitor keeps the commission and tells the client there were no referral fees.

Answer:
Failure to account for a financial benefit and falsely stating that no commission was received is dishonest. Para 4.1 requires accounting to the client unless agreed otherwise, and lying about commissions meets the objective dishonesty threshold.

Worked Example 1.7

A solicitor provides an undertaking by phone to send certified copies of title documents by Friday, knowing the firm does not yet have them and cannot meet the deadline, but hoping to “sort it out later.”

Answer:
An undertaking should only be given where the solicitor can fulfil it. Promising performance the solicitor knows they cannot achieve, and allowing the other party to rely on it, is likely to be dishonest and also a breach of Para 1.3. At minimum, it lacks integrity and may lead to personal liability.

Revision Tip

If in doubt about the honesty of conduct, always consider: What would ordinary people think if they knew all the facts? If the answer is negative, the conduct is likely to breach Principle 4. Distinguish an inadvertent error promptly corrected (not usually dishonest) from deliberate concealment or fabrication (dishonest). Link your analysis to what the solicitor actually knew or believed about the facts.

Additional Guidance: Honesty, Integrity and Linked Duties

Honesty and integrity overlap but are not identical. A solicitor may act without integrity without necessarily being dishonest. Examples include:

• authorising payments from client account without adequate enquiry, showing disregard for rules
• giving undertakings carelessly and failing to perform them promptly
• allowing unfair advantage to be taken of an unrepresented opponent.

Conversely, fabricating documents, lying to clients or courts, misusing client money, or knowingly enabling false evidence will normally amount to dishonesty, not just lack of integrity.

The duty not to mislead (Para 1.4) is central to acting honestly. It covers acts and omissions. Examples include:

• telling a client that procedural steps have been completed when they have not
• stating a document was served on a particular date when it was not
• allowing the court to be misled by failing to correct a false impression when asked to confirm accuracy.

Honesty also underpins conduct concerning witnesses and evidence. Solicitors must not influence the substance of evidence or generate false evidence (Paras 2.1–2.3 Code of Conduct). Witness familiarisation is acceptable; coaching is not.

Honesty applies equally to private conduct. Offensive communications, abusive messaging and misleading statements about one’s role or cases can undermine trust and confidence, engaging Principle 2. Where communications amount to false assertions or deception, dishonesty may also be in play.

Worked Example 1.8

A solicitor backdates an attendance note to suggest advice was given earlier, hoping to fend off a complaint and avoid embarrassment. The note is presented as contemporaneous.

Answer:
Backdating to mislead is dishonest. Ordinary decent people would view this as falsifying records to conceal an error. It will likely breach Principle 4 and Principle 2, and attract serious sanctions.

Key Point Checklist

This article has covered the following key knowledge points:

• The SRA Principle of honesty applies to all regulated solicitors at all times, in practice and in private life.
• Dishonesty is determined by an objective test focusing on the solicitor’s actual knowledge/belief about facts and the standards of ordinary decent people.
• The duty not to mislead (Para 1.4) is essential to acting honestly and covers both acts and omissions.
• Examples of dishonesty include lying, creating or backdating documents, misuse of client money, and failing to correct inaccuracies when asked to confirm them.
• Honesty and integrity overlap but are distinct; lack of integrity can occur without dishonesty, but proven dishonesty almost always results in striking off.
• The SRA’s Enforcement Strategy treats dishonesty at the highest end of seriousness; reporting and disciplinary processes involve both the SRA and, in serious cases, the SDT.
• Undertakings must be given and performed honestly; misleading undertakings can result in personal liability and disciplinary action.

Key Terms and Concepts

• honesty
• dishonesty
• objective test for dishonesty
• duty not to mislead
• integrity
• undertaking