It’s Friday…time for a little slice of compliance news!
Have a fabulous weekend,
Jon and the team
Blog: The SRA regulatory reform programme
Here is a quick guide to the recently-announced regulatory reform, and what we can expect to see in the SRA Handbook 2019.
In short, there’s a lot coming our way over the next nine months!
SRA Accounts Rules 2018 – “Costs” v “Fees”
If you read our last newsletter (what do we mean “if”?) you will remember that we mentioned the long awaited news that the new SRA Accounts Rules are ready to be rolled out in April 2019, subject to the approval of the Legal Services Board.
Seemingly innocuous changes in wording may in fact prove to have significant impact upon law firms as Richard Lane of Legal Financial Professionals expertly analyses in his most recent article.
SRA waiver reform
The SRA has launched its new approach to the way it grants waivers with the aim of simplifying its criteria and making the actual application process a lot easier.
Perhaps in light of recent criticism, the SRA has also altered its approach to the publication of information regarding those waivers it grants. Fuller details will be published on its website which will include a summary of the application, the waiver granted and the reasons for granting it (or not) and any conditions that may have been attached.
The “exceptional circumstances” tests have been replaced with one criteria which focuses upon the Legal Services Act 2007 regulatory objectives and the need to serve the public interest ie. to provide appropriate protection for consumers and support the rule of law and administration of justice.
Why it matters
The SRA has long since been advocating innovation, however the routes to achieving this may not have been as clear and accessible as they might. It is helpful that they have also published a report which gives examples of previous waivers that it has granted to spur people on. Pushing the boundaries in terms of how legal services can be delivered opens up greater opportunities to better serve the public and improve vital access to justice.
Insurers critical of indemnity insurance reforms
The Association of British Insurers is not convinced that the planned reforms to cut the minimal level of indemnity insurance will reduce premiums and increase competition as hoped by the SRA.
It urges against over complicating the system and warns that the reduction may in fact restrict a minority of consumers from having any protection.
Why it matters
If it ain’t broke don’t fix it seems to be the message. It may be that the seemingly altruistic aims of the SRA could potentially have the adverse effect of damaging the reputation of the profession. If the public feel that they are in some way being left out to dry then trust and confidence will surely plummet.
Deloitte’s ABS licence granted
The SRA has granted Deloitte its licence to provide legal services in employment law, tax litigation and immigration.
In light of the fact that Deloitte is already regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, certain waivers have been granted and it may undertake exempt regulated activities provided that they arise out of or are complimentary to the firm’s legal activities.
They are the last of the “big four” to do it with KPMG, EY and PwC having already jumped aboard the ABS wagon.
Why it matters
Here come the accountants?
The example set by these big players will surely filter down and encourage other business to explore the ABS route. This together with the SRA’s new approach to waivers may bring about a more extensive shift in the legal environment.
Which? granted SRA waiver
Consumer group Which? is among a number of unregulated company’s that have benefited from the SRA granting waivers allowing it to employ solicitors to provide legal advice to its members.
Other companies listed within the SRA’s recent report include Parental Choice which is aimed at families who employ staff within their home such as au pairs. The waiver that was granted enables the company to offer employment and commercial advice as part of their range of services.
Why it matters
The nature of the services provided by the businesses that have been highlighted in the SRA report (referenced above) clearly hit the brief of providing a more rounded service to the public. The public will no longer have to hop from one business to another to deal with one issue.
Disciplinary decisions
- Mohammed Abid has been suspended from practice for 6 months. Mr Abid had allowed a detained person to use his mobile phone during a private consultation whilst under arrest. He was also found to have allowed the conversation with a potential witness to continue and subsequently was found to have mislead the metropolitan police by denying that he had allowed the suspect to use his phone.
- Donna Taylor was fined £12,500 by the SDT. The allegations were dealt with by way of SDT a statement of agreed facts and outcomes. Ms Taylor was found to have acted in breach of the SRA Accounts Rules 2011 between September 2011 and March 2015 on a number of counts. The allegations included maintaining two suspense ledger accounts without any or adequate justification
- Tania Bains has been struck off and ordered to pay £6000 costs for having embelished her CV to reflect grades in areas of law she hadn’t studied and inflated the grades on all but one of her exams.
