SRA consumer protection review
Solicitors Journal, Today’s Conveyancer and Today’s Wills & Probate cover the SRA’s consumer protection review, as the SRA considers whether firms should continue to operate client accounts or if restrictions should be implemented.
Law Society president Nick Emmerson said: “The SRA is considering whether or not firms should hold client money or whether some form of restrictions ought to be introduced.
“The ability to handle client money is an important difference between solicitors as regulated professionals and unregulated services providers. Client accounts are a fundamental tool for the efficient and effective delivery of many types of legal services.
“Most firms comply with all the rules. Unfortunately, there are an exceptional few who abuse their position and careful consideration should be given to applying appropriate and proportionate safeguards that might reduce risks to consumers.
“Despite this recent uptick in the number of SRA interventions, the yearly mean for the three-year period for 2020-2023 was 39 interventions, lower than the historical average of 42.5 over the period 2010-2023.
“We asked for more information from the SRA about recent interventions, including reasons, types of entities and size of entity involved and whether the SRA can identify common themes. To date, this information has not been provided but if and when, we receive it, we will provide a constructive response on how any potential risks may be ‘minimised to consumers.’”
Compensation Fund levy
Legal Futures, Today’s Family Lawyer and Today’s Wills and Probate cover the Law Society’s concerns about the proposed rise to the Compensation Fund levy.
Chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: “Solicitors are steadfast in their wide support for the Compensation Fund, as a vital protection for clients, and it clearly delineates the profession from unregulated providers of legal services.
“However, we have to question whether the SRA has provided sufficient evidence to justify the increases. Its own principles call for transparency in determining the viability of the fund whilst keeping the levy amount and the approach to collection manageable for the regulated sector.”
CILEX regulation
Legal Futures and Gazette report that the SRA has approved plans to regulate CILEX members.
Chief executive officer Ian Jeffery said: “We are deeply concerned that the SRA Board has given the go ahead to regulating CILEX members, despite its own regulated community, and CILEX’s members objecting to the idea of regulatory change, and the Legal Services Consumer Panel stating that the consumer case has not been made.
“For the last two years, the Law Society has advocated on behalf of our members opposing the proposal and raising concerns at the serious negative impact it will have on regulated communities, consumers of legal services and the wider public interest.
“The change will cause consumer confusion, as it will be less clear which profession is which, and where different authorisations for practice areas apply. This is likely to be a particular problem for those with complex legal issues, or vulnerable consumers.”
Criminal court backlogs
Bolton News reports that backlogs in the criminal courts are unprecedented, as recent figures show more than 68,000 outstanding cases in the Crown Courts and more than 380,000 backed up at Magistrates Courts.
President Nick Emmerson said: “It is alarming to see the criminal court backlogs continue to spiral. It is unacceptable that victims, witnesses and defendants are having to wait so long, with their lives in limbo, to access justice.
“The criminal justice system is in crisis with huge backlogs of cases, crumbling courts and overcrowded prisons. There simply are not enough judges and lawyers to work on all the cases and we have heard concerning reports that court buildings are not being used to their full capacity.”
Intersectionality in the profession
Jacqui Rhule-Dagher, a member of the Law Society’s LGBTQ+ Solicitors Network, writes in City A.M about embracing intersectionality in the legal workplace.
Also worth a read:
- SRA unveils new financial penalties regime after being granted unlimited fining powers for misconduct relating to financial crime - Gazette
- Civil servants overestimate court backlogs under Tories by up to 9,000 – Telegraph (£)
- One violent crime ‘committed every two days by offenders on probation’ – Telegraph (£)
- Joint enterprise convictions have risen to the highest rate in 10 years, with over 600 people convicted since 2019 - The Justice Gap
- Prison rehabilitation numbers in England and Wales is down 74% since 2010 - Guardian
- Hundreds of Ukrainian children have been left stranded after restrictions visa scheme scrapped - Times (£)
- Hong Kong commercial law hub allure damaged by foreign judges row, lawyers say – Reuters
- Judi Dench and Siân Phillips become first female members of Garrick club - Guardian
- UK house prices unexpectantly rise in June – FT (£)
- Royal Mail claims no backlog of postal votes - BBC, inews (£)
- Election updates as campaign reaches penultimate day – Times (£), City A.M.