Our professional ethics and rule of law (PERL) consultation: emerging themes and next steps

Between March and May, we ran our consultation on Upholding Professional Ethical Duties. We are grateful to everyone who took the time to respond. Your feedback confirmed that there is strong interest across the legal services sector in professional ethics, and you flagged important considerations and challenges for achieving lasting change. 

As we continue to put together our formal consultation response and finalise our policy statement, we wanted to share some emerging themes and our next steps.  

We are also developing a Professional Ethics Network, building on the work of our excellent PERL Reference Group. See below for how you can get involved in driving strong ethical standards across the sector. 

An outcomes-based approach  

We asked for views on how regulators could strengthen professional ethics training, guidance, and support for legal professionals.  

There was broad support for an approach that looks at outcomes, rather than prescribing what regulators must do. Different regulated communities face different challenges, so they need tailored solutions to uphold the same high ethical standards. Many regulators and representative bodies emphasised that a one-size-fits-all approach would not work effectively across different practice contexts, from self-employed barristers to large commercial firms, from contentious work to transactional services.  

Defining professional ethical duties 

There was widespread agreement on the value of a clear definition of “professional ethical duties”. Many respondents supported our proposal to build on the professional principles in the Legal Services Act 2007, suggesting that the definition could be strengthened with reference to honesty, public interest, and duties equivalent to those owed to the court for non-litigious practice. 

A recurring theme in the feedback was about how complex it can be for legal professionals to balance their different professional ethical duties – for example, duties to the client, duties to act with independence and integrity, and duties to the court to act in the interests of justice. Regulators need to help professionals to understand how to prioritise these different duties when they come into conflict. We recognise that any definition of professional ethical duties set out in the final policy statement will need to be clear without oversimplifying what can be nuanced ethical considerations. 

Education and training throughout a career 

Respondents agreed that current approaches to ethics training are inadequate. Ethics education should be a career-long commitment, not just part of qualification. There was a clear preference for contextualised and practice-specific training – to include case studies and real-life examples – embedded within existing competency frameworks. This would also encompass the outcomes set out in our ongoing competence statement of policy. Many respondents also supported firm-wide training being extended to non-authorised staff working in legal environments. 

There were some concerns about implementation and regulatory boundaries. We recognise here the value of an outcomes-based approach, which would give regulators autonomy to decide how best to meet the outcomes for their communities. 

Strengthening regulatory frameworks

Respondents were keen that regulatory frameworks should be comprehensive and consistent. They agreed that, for consumers, it’s better for regulation to help prevent problems from arising in the first place. Regulators should encourage ethical behaviour by making sure that ethics are central to their rules, guidance, and wider arrangements. 

People told us they want regulators to spot risks early, understand what’s happening in the sector, and give practical guidance with real-life examples. Some respondents questioned whether a more systematic overhaul is required, given that some regulators have measures in place that would already meet our proposed expectations.  

More broadly, there was a clear message that lawyers need to be given the skills to make ethical decisions, rather than relying only on rules. 

Workplaces and leadership matter 

The feedback recognised that ethical challenges cannot be addressed by individual accountability alone. Leadership, organisational culture, and workplaces are all crucial. Respondents encouraged us to consider the links between wellbeing and ethics, as well as the financial incentives that can drive poor decisions. This focus on systems rather than blame reflects modern understandings of how organisational culture shapes behaviour. 

Using data to improve monitoring 

Respondents welcomed our emphasis on data collection and intelligence-gathering as essential for spotting risks and identifying best practice. Concerns were raised about implementation, resourcing, and capacity, particularly for smaller regulators. The idea of enhanced coordination and intelligence-sharing across the sector was especially well received, which we will explore further with regulators and the wider sector. 

Evaluation and continuous improvement 

There was strong support for robust evaluation of any regulatory measures. This would help to maintain transparency, public confidence, and responsiveness to emerging challenges such as AI.  

Respondents noted, however, that measuring impact is difficult when ethical matters require subjective judgement, and resource demands may also fall unevenly across regulators. Suggestions included better coordination and shared approaches to evaluation, to make sure that methods are proportionate and cost-effective. 

What happens next? 

The consultation confirmed that professional ethics need to be strengthened, but also how complex it will be to make this work for everyone. Regulators will need to be proportionate and flexible. 

We are analysing all responses and will continue to engage with regulators and others as we develop our final policy statement and formal consultation response. These will set out how we plan to take this work forward and how implementation will be managed.  

Thank you again to everyone who contributed to this important conversation about the future of professional ethics in legal services. We look forward to sharing more news soon.