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Successor practice—checklist

Successor practice—checklist For law firms, whether you are thinking of merging, acquiring a practice, selling up or closing down, the successor practice rules will almost always be relevant. It is very important you consider these rules and how they will impact the transaction as the results are often unexpected, expensive and ultimately can create unacceptable risks for one or other party or indeed both. It is vital to understand the implications of your plans. If the parties work together, it is often possible to mitigate risks sufficiently to enable a transaction to proceed where otherwise it may fail. As always knowledge is power. It is rare that the acquisition of any part of a law firm will not lead to the acquiring business becoming a successor practice—you are probably best to assume this is the case. Section 1 seeks to set out how a successor practice is created. If you believe your transaction can avoid the creation of a successor practice, eg you are only acquiring client matters, take advice...

Publicity—law firms—checklist

Publicity—law firms—checklist This Checklist is designed to help you determine whether you have the systems in place to comply with regulatory requirements that apply to law firms in relation to publicity. It should be read in conjunction with subtopic: Publicity & inducements—law firms. SRA requirements in relation to publicity are contained in the SRA Principles, the SRA Code of Conduct for Firms (Code for Firms), SRA Code of Conduct for Solicitors (Code for Solicitors) and the SRA Transparency Rules. This is supplemented by guidance documents and warning notices. See Practice Note: Publicity—law firms. General Requirement Compulsory or recommended Comments (if any) ☐ Establish a procedure for ensuring any publicity relating to your practice is aligned with the SRA Principles and is not misleading.See Precedents: Publicity material compliance check—law firms and Publicity material audit form—law firms. Compulsory SRA PrinciplesCode for Solicitors, para 1.4 SRA Code of Conduct for Firms (Code for Firms), para 1.4 (Insert any comments you may wish to make regarding your firm’s arrangements) ☐ When you...

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Personal injury referrals—SRA examples, flowchart and guidance

Personal injury referrals—SRA examples, flowchart and guidance This Practice Note summarises guidance and examples given by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) about what may constitute a permitted or prohibited referral arrangement for personal injury matters: The SRA guidance was published under the SRA regime 2011, but appears to apply equally to the SRA 2019 regime. What is prohibited? To fall foul of the personal injury (PI) referral fee ban, you must: • receive a referral • of a PI or ancillary claim • pay a prohibited referral fee, ie a fee for the referral itself, rather than in consideration for the provision of services or for another reason For more guidance see Practice Notes: Personal injury referral fee—the statutory regime and Personal injury referral arrangements—SRA requirements—What does the SRA prohibit? SRA guidance It is clear from Solicitors Regulation Authority's (SRA) guidance that there are two circumstances in which it considers the referral fee ban will not apply: • there is no referral as defined by the Legal...

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Solicitors Regulation Authority

The Solicitors Regulation authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. It regulates:•individual solicitors, registered European lawyers (RELs), registered foreign lawyers (RFLs) and non-lawyer employees, owners and managers of regulated law firms•law firms, eg sole practices, partnerships, LLPs and companies providing legal advice and services as:◦a solicitor practice (ie a firm owned and managed by solicitors), or ◦an alternative business structure (ABS) (eg a firm with non-lawyer owners or managers)The SRA does not represent the solicitors’ profession, which is the function of the Law Society. Its purpose is to ensure that consumers receive a good service and that the rule of law is upheld. This Practice Note explains the SRA’s structure, role and powers.Structure The SRA’s work is overseen by the SRA board, which comprises both solicitor and lay members, with the majority being non-lawyers. The board is assisted by three committees covering:•audit and risk•nominations•remunerationThe SRA is predominantly based in Birmingham but also has offices in London.Relationship with the Law Society and the Legal Services BoardThe Law...

SRA’s authorisation function

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has three core operational functions: •authorisation (which this Practice Note covers)•supervision (see Practice Note: SRA’s supervision function)•enforcement (see Practice Note: SRA’s enforcement function)In order to provide reserved legal services or, in the case of an individual, to hold yourself out as a solicitor, you must be authorised by one of the legal services regulators. The SRA’s authorisation teams ensure that applicants for authorisation are properly vetted. Only those who can demonstrate that they meet the required standards will be authorised by the SRA. This Practice Note describes the SRA’s approach to authorisation.Who the SRA authorisesThe SRA deals with applications by:•organisations for approval as recognised bodies (ie law firms owned and managed by solicitors), recognised sole practices or alternative business structures (ABSs) (characterised by the involvement of non-lawyer owners and/or managers)•individuals for:◦admission as solicitors◦approval as managers, owners or compliance officers of firmsRisk-based authorisationThe SRA is measured by the Legal Services Board (LSB) on its performance in delivering the following regulatory objectives:•protecting and promoting the public interest•supporting...

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Price and service notice—fixed price—general—law firms

Price and service notice—fixed price—general—law firms 1 Legal costs 1.1 There are [two OR three] main elements to the legal costs of [insert brief description of services, eg obtaining a grant of probate and distributing an estate]: 1.1.1 our charges; 1.1.2 expenses we must pay out of your behalf[; OR .] 1.1.3 [costs that you may have to pay another party.] 1.2 Our charges 1.2.1 We charge a fixed price [of £[insert price excluding VAT] OR ranging between £[insert price excluding VAT] and £[insert price excluding VAT] depending on [insert description of the factors that will dictate where in the fixed price range your fees will fall, eg the value and complexity of your matter]]. 1.2.2 [If a matter or transaction does not reach a conclusion, we reserve the right to charge for the work done, using our normal charging basis of £[insert rate] per hour. This applies even where a fixed rate has been agreed for the whole matter.] 1.2.3 Our charges do not...

Letter to complainant—written response—deadlock or final letter

Letter to complainant—written response—deadlock or final letter [Insert complainant’s name] [Insert complainant’s contact address] Our ref: [insert complaint reference number] Dear [insert complainant’s name] I am writing to confirm I have concluded the investigation of your complaint that I received on [insert date complaint received]. 1 Your complaint The specific issues of your complaint were: [insert details] The investigations I undertook were: [insert details] 2 Our decision Based on these investigations I have concluded that: [insert details] 3 [ Remedy The remedies I think are appropriate are: [insert details] Please contact me by [insert date] to confirm whether you accept my proposed remedies. If you accept my proposed remedies I will ensure [insert details].] 4 Complaining to the Legal Ombudsman [We have been unable to settle your complaint using our internal complaints process. You may have a right to complain to the Legal Ombudsman OR If you are not satisfied with our consideration of your complaint you may be able to ask the Legal Ombudsman to consider...

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An unrepresented party agreed to the proceeds of sale of a property being held by their spouse’s solicitors and later stated to those solicitors that the funds could be used to pay their spouse’s rent. If that party then removes their consent, can the spouse’s solicitors continue to pay the rent from the proceeds of sale?

An unrepresented party agreed to the proceeds of sale of a property being held by their spouse’s solicitors and later stated to those solicitors that the funds could be used to pay their spouse’s rent. If that party then removes their consent, can the spouse’s solicitors continue to pay the rent from the proceeds of sale? It is assumed that: • no order has been made as to the payment of rent from the proceeds of sale • the consent given was not irrevocable Joint proceeds of sale should be held in the solicitor’s client account. Such an account is defined by section 87 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974) as meaning an account subject to rules under SA 1974, s 32(1)(a). That section, in turn, provides for the Law Society to make rules 'as to the opening and keeping by solicitors of accounts at banks or with building societies for money within subsection (1A)'. In turn, SA 1974, s 32(1)(a) says that 'The...

If acting for a landlord on the renewal of a lease, where there is no premium payable and the tenant's rent is going directly to the landlord, to what extent are source of funds and source of wealth investigations required?

If acting for a landlord on the renewal of a lease, where there is no premium payable and the tenant's rent is going directly to the landlord, to what extent are source of funds and source of wealth investigations required? This response is limited to requirements arising under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017 (MLR 2017), SI 2017/692. The first issue to consider is whether the matter in which you are instructed is within scope of the MLR 2017, SI 2017/692. We refer you to Practice Note: Money Laundering Regulations 2017—scope and application—law firms. At high-level, a law firm is caught by the MLR 2017, SI 2017/692, when it provides legal services to other persons participating in financial or real property transactions concerning: • buying and selling of real property or business entities • managing client money securities or other assets (this is narrower than handling them) • opening or managing bank, savings or securities accounts (this...

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Dispute Resolution weekly highlights—12 June 2025

This week's edition of Dispute Resolution weekly highlights includes: analysis of a number of key DR developments and key judicial decisions including the Civil Procedure Rule Committee minutes of 9 May 2025 and the Court of Appeal decision in Saxon Woods Investments Ltd v Costa (corporate disputes); dates for your diary; details of our most recently published content; and other information of general interest to dispute resolution practitioners.

Lawyer cleared in undercover reporters fake asylum sting

Law360, London: A former manager at a law firm was cleared on 29 May 2025 of allegations that he had helped an undercover journalist to make a fake asylum claim, as a tribunal ruled that the lawyer did not act dishonestly.