SRA names Caroline Corby as new Board Chair

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has announced that Caroline Corby will become the new Chair of the Board, with effect from 23 November 2026. She succeeds Anna Bradley, who announced in June that she would be stepping down after eight years.

Caroline Corby is the current Chair of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), a post she has held since 2021. The SRA said the recruitment process was carried out by an external agency over several months with an independent selection panel chaired by Senior Independent Board member Lisa Mayhew.

Key points

• Caroline Corby will become SRA Board Chair from 23 November 2026, succeeding Anna Bradley after her eight years in the role.
• Corby is currently Chair of the Professional Standards Authority (PSA), a post she has held since 2021.
• The appointment followed a recruitment process run by an external agency over several months, with an independent selection panel chaired by Lisa Mayhew.
• Corby also serves as Lead Non-Executive Board Member and Chair of the Crown Prosecution Service, Chair of Peabody Trust, and a non-executive director of the Security Industry Authority.
• The SRA Board comprises ten non-executive directors and one executive director, including six lay members and four solicitor members, plus an independent Chair, and meets around eight times a year.

The appointment

Announcing the appointment, Caroline Corby said: ‘I am delighted to be joining the SRA as Chair of the Board. The UK’s legal services sector is rightly seen as a global leader that supports businesses, strengthens the rule of law and drives confidence in our legal system.’ She added: ‘Strong and effective regulation is fundamental to that success, creating the conditions that drive the public’s trust in legal services,’ and said she looked forward to ‘working with the Board, Sarah and colleagues across the organisation as the SRA enters its next phase of becoming a more modern, proportionate, effective and trusted regulator.’

Sarah Rapson, Chief Executive of the SRA, said: ‘Caroline will be joining us as Chair of the Board at such an important time. She brings a wealth of experience in regulation, governance and public protection, as well as a strong track record of leading organisations through change and improvement.’ Rapson also thanked Anna Bradley ‘for her support and wise counsel since I became Chief Executive,’ saying her ‘commitment to the organisation and public service has been greatly appreciated.’

Lisa Mayhew, who chaired the selection panel, said: ‘Caroline stood out through a highly competitive recruitment process. She combines deep regulatory expertise with a clear commitment to protecting consumers and maintaining public confidence.’ Mayhew also thanked Bradley ‘for her service to the SRA over the past eight years,’ noting her ‘tenure has spanned a period of considerable change for both the organisation and the legal sector.’

Background

During her tenure at the PSA, the SRA said Corby’s organisation ‘strengthened its oversight of healthcare regulators and accredited registers, introduced a new framework of standards for regulators, expanded engagement with stakeholders across the UK and published influential work on effective, proportionate regulation.’ The release said Corby studied Mathematics and Statistics at Bristol University, worked in the City for 13 years specialising in private equity, and served as a non-executive director on around 10 private sector boards. She later joined the board of London Probation Trust in 2007, subsequently becoming its Chair, and has since 2015 undertaken a number of public appointments, including chairing fitness to practise hearings for several statutory health regulators.