PastPaperHero | The SRA Principles - Acting with independence

Learning Outcomes

This article covers:

Defining independence and its scope within the SRA Principles and Code of Conduct, and what it requires of solicitors in day-to-day practice
Recognising situations that threaten independent judgment—pressure from clients, employers, referrers, personal/financial interests, and wider commercial incentives
Distinguishing independence from conflicts of interest and improper influence, and its interaction with integrity, honesty, and duties to the court; prioritising Principles where they conflict
Advising on practical steps to safeguard independence: declining instructions, ceasing to act, accounting to clients for financial benefits, involving the COLP/COFA, and recording ethical decision-making
Applying firm-level controls that support independence and accountability, including transparent referral and fee-sharing arrangements, undertakings policies, supervision, and conflict checks
Analysing SQE2-style scenarios to identify risks and set out compliant conduct consistent with the SRA Principles and the Standards and Regulations

SQE2 Syllabus

For SQE2, you are required to understand the duty to act with independence as part of the SRA Principles, with a focus on the following syllabus points:

the meaning and application of independence within the SRA Principles and Code of Conduct
common scenarios where independence may be compromised or questioned
the distinction between independence and conflicts of interest, integrity and honesty obligations, and improper influence
required conduct when Principles conflict (public interest Principles take precedence)
firm-level controls supporting independence (referrals, fee sharing, undertakings, supervision)
practical steps to maintain independence (declining or ceasing to act, disclosure of interests, seeking internal ethics guidance)
links to relevant Code provisions (e.g. Para 1.4 not to mislead; Paras 4.1–4.3 client money and financial benefits; Paras 5.1–5.3 referrals; Para 6 conflicts; Para 7 compliance and accountability).

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.

What does the SRA Principle of acting with independence require of a solicitor?
Give two examples of situations where a solicitor’s independence might be at risk.
Can a solicitor’s personal financial difficulties provide a justification for allowing a client to improperly influence their advice? Explain.
How should a solicitor respond if their continued involvement in a case would appear to compromise their independence?

Introduction

Acting with independence is a core requirement of the SRA Principles and a fundamental ethical expectation for solicitors. For the purposes of the SQE2, you must not only know the definition of independence but also be able to identify and explain practical situations in which this principle is engaged or may be threatened.

Solicitors are expected to act without improper influence, whether from clients, third parties, financial interests, employers, or any source that could affect objective professional judgment. This can arise in commercial transactions, litigation, criminal practice, and firm-wide relationships.

Key Term: independence
Independence means acting without undue influence, pressure, or conflict so that your advice and decision-making are objective, honest, and determined by the law and your client’s best interests, not by external or improper factors.

A failure to maintain independence can undermine client trust, damage the profession’s reputation, and expose the solicitor to disciplinary action. Being able to identify threats to independence and knowing how to safeguard your own or your colleagues’ professional objectivity is therefore central to legal practice.

Independence relates both to the way advice is given and the way a solicitor conducts themselves. In practice, independence includes being prepared to decline instructions that would conflict with ethical obligations and wider duties to the court, the administration of justice, and the rule of law. It also includes the firm’s independence—avoiding arrangements that give control of legal services to third parties outside regulatory reach or restrict the freedom to act in the client’s best interests.

The Duty to Act with Independence

All solicitors regulated by the SRA are required to act “with independence.” This principle is broad: it applies in all of your dealings—whether advising, representing, negotiating, or simply communicating with clients or others.

Solicitors must exercise independent judgment. The client's wishes, the demands of an employer, or commercial or personal interests can never justify acting against the law or professional obligations. While solicitors should always act in the best interests of a client, this objective must never override the duties owed to the court, to the legal system, and to the principles set out in the SRA’s regulatory framework.

Key Term: improper influence
Improper influence is pressure or persuasion—direct or indirect—that might cause you to depart from professional judgment or act contrary to your ethical or legal duties.

Common sources of improper influence include clients, commercial partners, other lawyers, employers, friends, family, or your own financial circumstances.

Key Term: conflict of interest
A conflict of interest arises if your duty to act in the best interests of one client conflicts (or may conflict) with your own interests or your duty to another client.

Key Term: own interest conflict
An own interest conflict is where your personal, business, financial, or other interests (or those of someone close to you) conflict with or risk conflicting with your duty to a client.

Independence is closely connected to other Principles. It complements acting with honesty and integrity, upholding public trust and confidence, and the duty to the court and administration of justice. Where Principles come into conflict, those safeguarding the wider public interest—such as the rule of law and public trust—take precedence over an individual client’s interests. Independence therefore requires solicitors to resist requests to mislead the court or assist in improper conduct, even where a client insists.

Independence applies inside and outside formal proceedings. It extends to how solicitors manage relationships with referrers and introducers, financial incentives, the handling of undertakings, and the way firms structure and supervise work. It also requires solicitors to be personally accountable for their ethical decisions and able to justify them by reference to the SRA Standards and Regulations.

Recognising Threats to Independence

Some scenarios where independence may be at risk include:

Being offered personal benefits, gifts, or favours by a client in return for ‘helpful’ legal advice.
Acting for a client while holding a personal stake in the outcome (e.g. shares, contingent fees, or bonuses tied to a result).
Accepting instructions or pursuing strategies that are legally or ethically dubious because a client insists.
Referral and fee-sharing arrangements that incentivise steering clients to particular providers or constrain advice on alternatives.
Situations where you or a colleague may be a material witness in the matter, creating a risk that personal involvement affects judgment.
Longstanding commercial relationships that create loyalty pressures inconsistent with objective advice (e.g. regularly instructed institutional clients; risk of “going along” to avoid losing work).
External ownership or “separate business” structures that risk blurring regulatory boundaries or compromising the firm’s freedom to act solely in clients’ best interests.

You must be alert to more subtle threats. A longstanding relationship with a client or third party may gradually make it harder to give honest advice. Alternatively, fear of losing lucrative work could tempt solicitors to “go along” with questionable conduct. Independence requires clear boundaries and the willingness to refuse instructions or withdraw where necessary.

Financial pressure creating risks: Financial or job insecurity cannot justify a loss of professional independence. Such circumstances may make it more likely that a solicitor is tempted to act inappropriately, but are never valid justifications.

Worked Example 1.1

Sheena, a solicitor, faces personal financial hardship. A client facing arrest offers to pay Sheena a bonus if she persuades the police to accept a false alibi. Sheena is tempted to comply.

Answer:
Sheena must refuse the client’s offer. Agreeing would involve dishonesty, lack of integrity, and breach the core duty of independence. Her financial situation is never a justification for compromising professional conduct.

Common Situations Testing Independence

Referrals with Commission or Incentives

Solicitors must avoid arrangements where personal benefit—such as commission for referring clients to others—might affect their advice. Independence requires you to advise based on the client’s best interests and the law, not financial incentives. If any financial benefit is received as a result of acting, it must be accounted for to the client unless there is express agreement to retain it. Clients must be informed of any fee sharing or referral arrangement relevant to their matter, and such arrangements must be in writing. Ensure referral agreements do not constrain your freedom to recommend alternative providers where that is in the client’s best interests.

Potential Witness in Your Own Case

If you or someone in your firm may be called as a witness in a matter, your independence may be compromised. You must consider whether you can continue to act without breaching your duty. Even the appearance that your own involvement could influence your conduct may be sufficient to require you to cease acting. Document your decision-making and, if necessary, seek guidance from a supervisor or the COLP.

Worked Example 1.2

Mark is a partner in a law firm. He refers conveyancing clients to a mortgage broker and receives a percentage fee for every referral—even when the broker is not the best choice for the client.

Answer:
Mark is not acting independently. The commission puts his personal interest at odds with his duty to the client. He should only refer clients based on the client’s needs, not for personal gain, and should always disclose relevant interests.

Personal Financial Interests (e.g. Shareholdings)

Holding shares or a similar stake in a client, opponent, or entity affected by the matter creates a clear risk to independence. Even if the shareholding is legal and disclosed, the potential for personal loss or gain undermines objective judgment. This typically amounts to an own interest conflict and will prevent acting.

Worked Example 1.3

Michael is a solicitor specialising in litigation. He is asked to act for a claimant suing Green Ltd. Michael holds a significant number of shares in Green Ltd.

Answer:
Michael cannot act. His financial stake jeopardises independent judgment and creates an own interest conflict. He should decline instructions and, if appropriate, refer the client to a colleague or another firm with no such interest, ensuring a conflict check is conducted and recorded.

External Structures and Separate Businesses

The firm’s independence can be undermined by giving practical control of legal services to an unregulated third party or by operating separate businesses that create pressure to refer clients internally. If any arrangement could restrict the freedom to act solely in clients’ best interests or place legal work beyond effective regulatory oversight, it should be avoided or restructured with effective safeguards. Clients must be clearly informed which services are regulated and what protections apply.

Worked Example 1.4

Alisha works in an SRA-authorised firm that also operates a separate, unregulated debt advisory business. A client asks for advice on insolvency options. The firm’s manager pressures Alisha to refer clients to the separate business.

Answer:
Alisha must maintain independence. She should assess and recommend the best options based on the client’s interests, not internal pressure. She must explain which services are regulated and what protections apply, and avoid referral where incentives or pressure risk compromising advice. If the pressure persists, she should escalate to the COLP, seek a second opinion, and document her decision-making.

Responding to Threats to Independence

A solicitor faced with any threat to independence must:

Identify the threat. Assess whether there is a real or significant risk that your judgment or actions will be unduly influenced.
Act immediately. Escalate to a supervisor, the COLP, or seek a second opinion where appropriate.
Take steps to remove the threat—this may include refusing instructions, withdrawing from a referral arrangement, or ceasing to act.
Disclose relevant interests to the client and record the discussion, ensuring transparency about any potential impact on advice.
Where appropriate, document the decisions taken and, if needed, report the issue according to firm policies or to the SRA (having regard to the Enforcement Strategy’s emphasis on serious breaches).

Exam Warning

Even if a client explicitly consents to you acting despite a risk to your independence, you must not proceed. There are no exceptions to the duty to maintain independence—client consent does not change this obligation.

Worked Example 1.5

A solicitor is acting for several clients in a corporate transaction. One client is a close personal friend who suggests overlooking a minor but material legal requirement to ‘help things along.’ The solicitor is inclined to agree.

Answer:
The solicitor must refuse the friend’s request and document the advice. Indulging the friend would violate the duty of independence and objectivity, and could expose the solicitor and the firm to serious consequences.

Additional practical points

Where ethical decisions impact proceedings (e.g. criminal or civil litigation), independence often requires resisting pressure to mislead. If a client insists on a course that would mislead the court or others, you must not assist and may need to withdraw, explaining only that you are doing so for professional reasons and maintaining confidentiality.
If a solicitor or firm has received a financial benefit (commission, discount) as a result of acting, independence and fiduciary duties require accounting to the client unless there is written agreement to retain it. Make sure such arrangements never influence advice.
If an inducement, referral, or fee-sharing arrangement exists, independence demands full disclosure and written safeguards protecting client confidentiality. Your advice must remain objective and unconstrained by the arrangement.

Maintaining Independence in Practice

Solicitors should implement safeguards and procedures across the firm to support and enforce professional independence. This can include:

Regular training on professional ethics and independence, including the SRA’s Enforcement Strategy and the practical use of the Professional Ethics helpline.
Policies requiring full disclosure of potential personal or financial interests and referral/fee-sharing arrangements, with clear requirements to account for any financial benefits unless agreed otherwise.
Systems for supervision, second opinions, or escalation of complex cases (including clear COLP/COFA roles for reporting serious breaches and ensuring firm-wide compliance).
Conflict-checking systems that identify own interest conflicts and client conflicts early, and allow for robust decisions on declining or ceasing to act.
Undertakings policies that prevent commitments reliant on third parties or outside the solicitor’s control; undertakings must be fulfilled within agreed timescales or, if none, within a reasonable time.
Transparency measures ensuring clients understand whether services are regulated, by whom, and what protections apply (e.g. indemnity insurance, Compensation Fund).
Controls to mitigate pressures from introducers or separate businesses, including written agreements that protect independence and require informed client consent.
Information security and remote-working protocols that safeguard client affairs, maintain confidentiality, and prevent inadvertent disclosure or undue external influence on decision-making.

Every solicitor is responsible for their own independence, but firms must take steps to reduce risk across all staff—including trainees and support staff who interact with clients and third parties. Managers must ensure appropriate systems are in place and compliance officers must promptly report serious breaches.

Applying independence across practice areas

Criminal practice: Independence includes resisting pressure to run a dishonest defence, fabricate evidence, or mislead the police or court. If a client insists on a course that would mislead, withdraw for professional reasons while maintaining confidentiality. Putting the prosecution to proof is permissible; putting forward a positive case of innocence that you know to be false is not.
Property practice: Requests to act for buyer and seller, or borrower and lender, often engage conflict rules and independence concerns. Even where exceptions may permit acting for borrower and lender in standard residential cases, independence requires resisting pressures that could compromise advice (e.g. ignoring onerous terms, failing to disclose foreseeable conflicts to clients). If an internal or external arrangement would restrict candid advice, do not act.
Private client: Drafting wills where a significant gift is proposed to the solicitor (or their family) poses own interest conflict and independence risks. Independent legal advice for the client is normally required; if refused, you should decline to act.
Business law and practice: Where commercial relationships or fee structures could incentivise advice, independence requires full disclosure, accounting for benefits, and refusing arrangements that undermine objective judgment.

Practical safeguards and documentation

Use conflict checks and interests registers to identify threats early.
Record conversations where you disclose interests or incentives, and note client consents that are relevant (though remember client consent cannot override independence or own interest conflict prohibitions).
Keep attendance notes explaining ethical decisions, your understanding of the Code, and reasons for steps taken. This supports accountability and defensibility of decisions under Para 7.2 (ability to justify actions).
Seek an internal second opinion or external ethics guidance when needed. Escalate promptly where persistent pressure risks compromising independence.

Key Point Checklist

This article has covered the following key knowledge points:

The SRA Principle requires solicitors to act with independence and objectivity at all times in advice and conduct.
Independence means resisting undue pressure or improper influence from any person or circumstance, including clients, employers, referrers, and personal interests.
Own interest conflicts and improper influence are distinct but often arise together; both threaten proper legal advice and may require declining or ceasing to act.
There are no exceptions to independence: client consent cannot cure an own interest conflict or justify compromising professional judgment.
Independence includes firm-level responsibilities: avoiding referral arrangements or separate business structures that constrain advice; accounting to clients for financial benefits unless agreed otherwise; clear undertakings policies.
Maintaining independence may require refusing or ceasing to act, even if this results in commercial or personal disadvantage; confidentiality must be maintained when withdrawing.
The duty not to mislead the court or others intersects with independence; resisting requests to mislead is mandatory even under client pressure.
Systems for supervision, conflict checking, transparency, and prompt reporting of serious breaches support independence; managers and compliance officers have specific responsibilities.
A breach of independence can result in disciplinary action and damage to client relationships or the reputation of the profession.

Key Terms and Concepts

independence
improper influence
conflict of interest
own interest conflict

Worked Example 1.6