Solicitors Regulation Authority chair Anna Bradley is stepping down from the board, with the search for her successor starting this month.
Bradley became chair of the SRA board in January 2019. Her tenure was extended following the collapse of Axiom Ince, which placed the regulator under sustained scrutiny by the Legal Services Board and prompted moves to strengthen its oversight of law firms, after a series of critical external reviews.
The SRA said Bradley’s period as chair had coincided with significant change across the legal sector and within the regulator itself, alongside the exit of long-serving CEO Paul Philip.
During that time, the regulator introduced the Solicitors Qualifying Examination, moved further from a rules-based approach towards principles-based regulation, and attempted an abortive bid to regulate legal executives.
The search for Bradley’s successor follows Sarah Rapson’s recent arrival as chief executive. In announcing her exit, Bradley acknowledged that the regulator had not always responded quickly enough to market developments.
“Sometimes, we have not kept pace with the market and mistakes have been made,” she said. “I am sorry these issues have had such an impact on consumers and the profession. Which is why I have focused on learning and creating the momentum we need to deliver the necessary change.”
She added that the extension of her tenure had been intended to help the regulator navigate the aftermath of the Axiom Ince collapse and put it “on the right track”. With new executive leadership in place, she said it was now “the right time to start the transition to a new board chair”, who will take the post in January.
Separately, the Law Society of England and Wales council has elected Brabners partner Jeff Lewis as its next deputy vice president, putting him on course to become president at Chancery Lane in 2028.
Lewis will take office as deputy vice president in October 2026, become vice president in 2027 and then president the year after, following Dana Denis-Smith OBE. Lewis has represented Manchester on the Law Society council since 2016 and has served on several Law Society advisory committees, including its civil justice committee.
His election gives the Law Society a future president with long experience in private practice, the judiciary and a leading local law society. Lewis has been a deputy district judge on the Northern Circuit since 2001, a role the society said had given him insight into how the courts operate and the challenges around access to justice.
He joined Brabners in 2005, where he is a partner and head of commercial litigation in Manchester. Before that, he was a partner at Kuit Steinart Levy between 1998 and 2005, having previously worked at Vaudreys from 1989 to 1997 as an assistant, then an associate and finally a partner.
Lewis has also held several appointments at Manchester Law Society, including president in 2011-12, and is extremely well regarded there. Between 2008 and 2012, he was also a presenter and producer on BBC Radio Manchester’s Jewish Hour.
Mark Evans, president of the Law Society, said Lewis had emerged from “a strong pool of candidates” and that his “experience and commitment to the profession will be invaluable”.
Lewis said: “I am honoured to be elected deputy vice president of the Law Society at such an important time. I look forward to being a strong voice for solicitors, encouraging young people to enter the profession and build their careers. We need to ensure our justice system continues to serve everyone effectively.”
Separately, at the end of April, criminal silk Claire Davies KC was elected vice chair of the Bar Council for 2027, joining a team chaired by CPS barrister Heidi Stonecliffe KC. For the third successive year, an all-female team will lead the Bar.
Davies, who is the leader of the South Eastern Circuit for 2025-26, will serve alongside Stonecliffe and Enyo Law’s Lucinda Orr, who has been re-elected as treasurer. All three take posts in January 2027.
Called to the Bar by Middle Temple in 1999, Davies practises in serious criminal law, with a focus on homicide, organised crime, fraud and sexual offences, often in multi-handed trials. She is a member of Farringdon Chambers in London.
Davies became a Crown Court Recorder in 2016 and was authorised in 2022 to try cases at the Central Criminal Court, the Old Bailey. She took silk in 2022. As a Bencher of Middle Temple, she delivers advocacy and ethics training and is also a qualified facilitator for vulnerable witness training.
Davies said it was “a critical time for the publicly funded Bar” and that the profession had to remain united in influencing decisions about its future, including on jury trials – an issue 2026 chair Kirsty Brimelow KC has made prominent.
Davies added that retention, recruitment and support for existing talent would be central priorities, alongside continued work on equality, diversity and inclusion, and efforts to eliminate bullying following the Harman Review.
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