New financial penalties for law firms revealed

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has updated its plans on how it approaches issuing financial penalties to law firms and solicitors who do not follow expected professional standards.

It comes after the SRA launched a public consultation last year on proposed changes to their approach to issuing penalties.

The SRA aims to have a robust approach to provide a deterrent and for cases to be resolved more quickly.

Based on the feedback received in the consultation, the SRA now aims to take into consideration the turnover of firms/financial means of individuals when setting fines and to seek an increase to the maximum fine that can be issued internally to traditional firms, from £2,000 to £25,000.

The regulator also plans to amend its guidance for cases that involve discrimination, sexual misconduct or any form of harassment. Restriction on practice or strike off will be considered the more appropriate sanction, with financial penalties issued in exceptional circumstances.

It also plans to introduce ‘fixed penalties’ for lower-level breaches to speed up the time it takes for cases to be dealt with.

Anna Bradley, SRA Chair said: “The overwhelming majority of solicitors meet the standards we all expect, but when they don’t, we step in to protect the public and maintain confidence in the profession. These changes mean we can resolve issues more quickly, saving time and cost for everyone and, importantly, reducing the inevitable stress for those in our enforcement processes.

“It was good to see broad support for our proposals, as well as getting feedback that has helped us refine our approach. It is vital that everyone can be confident that our approach is fair and transparent.”

A further consultation on the details of the new fixed penalty notices will be launched later this year.

Any fines the SRA imposes go to the Treasury, and solicitors and firms would retain the right to appeal any penalty imposed to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.