The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced its new chair of the board, Caroline Corby.
Corby, who currently chairs the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), will begin her appointment next month, having replaced Anna Bradley.
Speaking on her new role, she said: “I am delighted to be joining the SRA as Chair of the Board. The UK’s legal services sector is rightly seen as a global leader that supports businesses, strengthens the rule of law and drives confidence in our legal system.
“Strong and effective regulation is fundamental to that success, creating the conditions that drive the public’s trust in legal services.”
Corby added that she looks forward to working with the Board and chief executive of the SRA, Sarah Rapson, as the regulator “enters its next phase” of becoming more “modern, proportionate, effective and trusted”.
Echoing this sentiment, The Law Society president Brett Dixon congratulated Corby on joining the regulator, while highlighting some important priorities for the new chair.
Dixon said: “Key priorities for the new chair of the Board, who joins the SRA at a pivotal moment, will include restoring public and solicitor confidence in the regulator and implementing the directions from the Legal Services Board following the collapse of Axiom Ince, SSB Law and PM Law.
“We have been encouraged by the SRA’s new leadership demonstrating a willingness to listen and act when they have got it wrong, and hope this will continue under the new chair of the Board.”
Sarah Rapson commented on the new appointment, stating that Corby brings a “wealth of experience in regulation, governance and public protection” as well as a history of “leading organisations through change and improvement”.
She said: “’I look forward to welcoming Caroline to the SRA and know she shares our ambition to ensure regulation protects the public while supporting a modern and thriving legal sector.
“Caroline’s insight and leadership will be invaluable as we deliver our plans to become a more modern, proactive and intelligence-led regulator.”
The chief executive also thanked Corby’s predecessor, Anna Bradley, for her “support and wise counsel” during her eight years in the role, and for her “commitment to the organisation and public service”.
Having chaired the PSA since 2021, Corby has strengthened its oversight of healthcare regulators and accredited registers, the SRA says, introduced a new framework of standards for regulators, expanded engagement with stakeholders across the UK and published influential work on effective, proportionate regulation.
As well as her role at the PSA, she serves as the lead non-executive board member and chair of the Crown Prosecution Service and is chair of Peabody Trust.
