Volume Consumer Litigation Firms Under Fire Following LSB’s Judgement on SRA
The SRA is to face unprecedented enforcement action by the LSB following the finding of failures in its handling of the Axiom Ince and £66 million of missing client money.
Although the recent headlines are making fresh news of this, the SRA have clearly seen this coming and have been ramping up targeted campaigns in the background. Volume Consumer Litigation Firms are being put under scrutiny by the SRA. Specific targeting of these firms has been in force for approximately 9 months with 100 plus question – questionnaires being sent to these firms, to which the SRA are then triggering planned and no-notice inspections on. Many firms feel this is often not explained by the SRA and instead labelled as “concerns regarding business management”. A vague description for firms who on the back of this notice, must inform insurers and stakeholders.
This approach has been fuelled by the recent administrations of firms such as SSB, McDermotts and Pure Legal and would appear this is a risk-based approach. The SRAs understanding of the commercial/operational side of the Volume Consumer Litigation market is developing and explains the approach being taken.
Therefore, to mitigate this approach, it’s important to have someone who understands the commercial world of Volume Consumer Litigation Firms and understands how the SRA is approaching this. After all, the SRA is only doing what it should be and protecting client interests. If your firm is involved in Volume Consumer claims such as Housing Disrepair, Financial Miss-Selling, Data Breach, Diesel Emissions, Flight Delay, Holiday Sickness, Miss Sold Tax Avoidance, Timeshare etc, then get in touch with us to ensure you are prepared.
Wesley Thompson, Head of Regulatory has 15 years’ experience, working both at the SRA and supporting firms from private practice.
Legal Disclaimer
All advice is correct at time of publication.
