SRA Handbook

Authorised bodies

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Version 4 of the Handbook was published on 21/06/2012. For more information, please click 'History' Above

Rule 5: Authorised bodies

Practice from an office in England and Wales

5.1

An authorised body may practise from an office in England and Wales in the following ways only:

(a)

as a stand-alone firm;

(b)

as a manager, member or interest holder of another authorised body;

(c)

as a manager, member or interest holder of an authorised non-SRA firm, in which case you must comply with any terms and requirements imposed on that firm's authorisation; or

(d)

as an executor, trustee or nominee company, or a company providing company secretarial services, wholly owned and operated by another authorised body or by a recognised sole practitioner.

Practice from an office outside England and Wales

5.2

An authorised body may practise from an office outside England and Wales in the following ways only:

(a)

as a stand-alone firm, provided that if any of the body's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and the office is in an Establishment Directive state other than the UK, the rules for local lawyers would permit a local lawyer to practise through a business of that composition and structure;

(b)

as a manager, member or interest holder of a business which has no office in England and Wales and meets all the following conditions:

(i)

the business carries on the provision of legal advice or assistance, or representation in connection with the application of the law or resolution of legal disputes;

(ii)

a controlling majority of the managers and the interest holders are lawyers practising as such and/or bodies corporate in which lawyers practising as such constitute a controlling majority of the managers and interest holders;

(iii)

if any of the business's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and any manager or interest holder is subject to the rules for local lawyers, the composition and structure of the business complies with those rules; and

(iv)

if any of the business's managers or interest holders are non-lawyers and the office is in an Establishment Directive state other than the UK, the rules for local lawyers would permit a local lawyer to practise through a business of that composition and structure;

(c)

as an executor, trustee or nominee company, or a company providing company secretarial services, wholly owned and operated by another authorised body or by a recognised sole practitioner.

Guidance notes

(i)

See Part 3 of these rules for the formation and eligibility criteria for recognised bodies and licensed bodies.

(ii)

Authorised bodies can have a complex structure, involving multi-layered ownership. But note that a partnership cannot be a partner in another partnership which is an authorised body because a partnership does not have separate legal identity (although, as an exception, an overseas partnership with separate legal identity could be a partner in a partnership which is an authorised body).

(iii)

The rules do not prevent an authorised body being a manager, member or interest holder of a recognised body or an authorised non-SRA firm which has an office outside England and Wales.