The framework that determines who may lawfully practise as a solicitor — from admission to the roll and the practising certificate to the reserved activities only authorised persons may perform.
Carrying out a reserved legal activity without authorisation is a criminal offence, so the distinction between being on the roll and holding a practising certificate matters from the very first point of this topic. The chapter opens with that distinction and the reserved activities themselves, then works through the route to admission: the four requirements for entry to the roll, the two-stage structure of the qualification route, the qualifying work experience that must accompany it, and the character and suitability standards the SRA applies — including its strict treatment of dishonesty. It then turns to the obligations that continue once a solicitor is practising: certificate renewal, the conditions the SRA can impose, the duty to notify criminal charges and bankruptcy, and the continuing competence regime. It closes with the position of foreign-qualified lawyers and the rights of audience a practising certificate carries, in the lower courts automatically and in the higher courts only with further qualification.
