How to be SRA compliant part 2: 4 ways Osprey can help law firms stay compliant with the SRA transparency rules 

The SRA Transparency Rules, introduced in 2018, are the foundation of legal compliance for firms in England and Wales. They ensure clients can access the information they need to make informed decisions, creating a fairer, more transparent marketplace. For SME law firms, maintaining compliance can feel overwhelming, but technology like Osprey Approach can simplify this process. 

The second part of our 3-part SRA transparency guide explores four ways Osprey Approach helps your firm stay compliant, reduce administrative burden, and maintain client trust. 

For the SRA transparency rules, please visit here.

What are the SRA transparency rules?  

The SRA Transparency Rules require all regulated law firms to publish specific information on their websites, including: 

• Costs and pricing for certain services. 

• Complaints procedures and how clients can escalate unresolved issues. 

• Relevant regulatory information, such as the SRA number and firm details. 

• Policies around service offerings, including who will be delivering the services and timescales involved. 

How Osprey Approach supports SRA compliance  

1. Simplifying document management for transparency compliance 

Maintaining up-to-date and accurate documentation is essential for SRA compliance. Osprey Approach simplifies this by providing: 

• Centralised storage for policies and pricing documents: All essential compliance materials, such as complaints handling policies and pricing information, can be securely stored in Osprey and easily accessed for updates. 

• Version control and tracking: This ensures your published documents are current, and you have a clear audit trail to demonstrate compliance. 

• Streamlined workflows for updates: With automated workflows, your team can follow standardised processes to review and publish transparency-related information, ensuring consistency.  

2. Ensuring accurate pricing information is always accessible 

The SRA requires firms to publish clear and precise pricing for certain services, such as conveyancing or probate. Osprey helps by: 

• Facilitating regular pricing reviews: Integrate automated tasks into your workflows to remind staff to review and update pricing information periodically. This ensures your website remains accurate and compliant.

• Generating compliant templates for cost estimates: Create accurate, professional client care letters and cost estimate documents at the click of a button, reducing manual errors and ensuring transparency. 

3. Streamlining complaints procedure publication 

Transparency about your complaints process not only builds trust with your clients but is also a mandatory requirement under Rule 2 of the SRA Transparency Rules. Ensuring that your procedures are clear, up-to-date, and consistently communicated is key to compliance.

Osprey helps law firms streamline complaints procedure publication by:

• Automating client correspondence: Automatically include the latest complaints procedure details in all client care letters and engagement agreements, ensuring compliance with SRA requirements without extra effort.
• Centralising complaints handling workflows: Use Osprey’s dedicated complaints handling workflow to track, review, and manage complaints efficiently, ensuring a consistent approach across your firm.
• Simplifying updates and publication: Osprey’s document management system provides a centralised location for storing, reviewing, and publishing your complaints policies, making updates quick and easy.
• Embedding review reminders: Set automated reminders within your workflows to prompt regular reviews of complaints policies, ensuring they remain accurate and compliant over time.

4. Complaints information: ensuring accountability 

Maintaining compliance with the SRA Transparency Rules requires consistent monitoring of your website and processes, alongside ensuring that all client interactions meet regulatory standards.

Osprey helps law firms streamline these efforts by:

• Standardising templates and processes: Osprey ensures that all users follow the same approved workflows and use consistent client care letter templates. This reduces the risk of errors and ensures compliance with pricing and information transparency requirements during the client onboarding stage.
• Embedding regular review tasks into workflows: Assign tasks within workflows to schedule periodic reviews of your website and compliance-related documents. This ensures your firm stays up to date with the latest SRA guidance and avoids overlooked updates.
• Providing an audit trail for accountability: Osprey tracks document creation, updates, and approvals, providing evidence of compliance efforts during audits or regulatory reviews.
• Streamlining onboarding processes: Incorporate key compliance documents—such as approved client care letters and terms of service—into workflows to ensure all team members send accurate, standardised information to clients at the start of every matter.

Osprey enables your team to focus on delivering exceptional client service while staying aligned with regulatory requirements. With streamlined systems in place, compliance becomes a proactive part of your operations, helping your firm maintain transparency and credibility in a competitive legal market. 

Book a consultation to discover how Osprey Approach can help you effectively complete client and matter risk assessments across your teams. 

For further advice and best practices you can view parts one and three of our SRA transparency guides:

How to be SRA compliant part 1: a guide to the SRA transparency rules

How to be SRA compliant part 3: The common SRA Transparency Rules pitfalls that most SME law firms face and how to overcome them 

Disclaimer 

This guide is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For detailed guidance on the SRA Transparency Rules, please visit the official Solicitors Regulation Authority website.