Can solicitors instruct themselves?

Under the SRA Principles, you must act:

1. •

   in a way that upholds the constitutional principle of the rule of law, and the proper administration of justice

2. •

   with integrity

3. •

   in a way that upholds public trust and confidence in the profession

The SRA Codes of Conduct contain an outright prohibition on acting for a client if there is an own interest conflict or a significant risk of an own interest conflict. An own interest conflict arises whenever your duty to act in the best interests of any client in relation to a matter conflicts, or there is a significant risk that it may conflict, with your own interests in relation to that or a related matter.

See Practice Note: Conflicts of interest—law firms and solicitors—Own interest conflicts.

We are not aware of any specific prohibition on a solicitor acting for themselves and such a situation may not necessarily represent