The Solicitors Regulation Authority have launched an online database of law firms which they say will improve access to information on the 10,000 plus law firms they regulate.
Law firm search, which can be found here, allows people to check whether firms are authorised by the SRA and provides some data such as contact details. It does not however include disciplinary or service information.
Data was previously provided to comparison websites that met criteria set by the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
Paul Philip, SRA Chief Executive, said: “We know that consumers look to regulators for authoritative and reliable information. Open data is not just about transparency and availability—above all, the information we provide has to be useful.
“We want to help people to make informed decisions when buying legal services. This first step makes our basic data freely available but we are looking at how best to open up access to more information.”
