As you would expect, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has various tools with which to monitor compliance with the respective rules and code of conduct. One of the main ones is the Practice Standards Unit (PSU) which visits 1,150 solicitors’ firms each year. However there are misunderstandings about what can prompt a visit by the PSU. Is it meant to be a carrot or stick? And what does a PSU visit actually involve?
In essence it’s both carrot and stick. A lot depends on the SRA’s view of the firm being visited. Many firms – most – are appreciative of the advice and help the advisers give and find it a positive experience. A few may find it threatening or even punitive – but in these cases it may be down to a misunderstanding of the purpose of a visit, or where quite rightly the Unit has uncovered evidence of breaches needing remedial or other action.
The PSU could be described as the SRA’s ‘watchdog’. Its team of 58 advisers and senior advisers who all have legal, financial and regulatory backgrounds, is arranged under five regions covering England and Wales and is headed up by Karen Nokes.
The work of the PSU consists in the main of visits to firms following a risk assessment based on information held by the SRA. A very few firms are selected at random.
Karen says: “We basically want to take a proactive approach in making sure firms and solicitors are complying with the Code of Conduct and if they are failing to meet standards, then wherever feasible, we work with them to put things right. We aim to advise solicitors on how to meet the standards that we set and also monitor how they comply.
“Where occasionally we encounter serious breaches, then we will refer these to other parts of the SRA for follow up but in the vast majority of cases, it isn’t necessary. In fact we find that most firms actually welcome our guidance. We receive a lot of positive feedback from firms we visit.”
It is well recorded that firms receiving a monitoring visit generate between 15 and 21% less complaints than before a visit compared to between 1-11% more complaints received by firms who have not received one.
In addition, the team hosts a series of client care seminars or ‘SRA Talks’ throughout the year, in response to requests from local law societies, individual firms, or other groups representing areas of law or ethnic background, to help compliance with standards. More than 40 such talks were delivered by staff within PSU last year. Regional managers also make presentations at the SRA Regulation Roadshows which travel around the country so that the leadership of the SRA can engage face to face with the profession.
What happens before, during and after a PSU visit?
Before visiting a firm, PSU examine information already held and this is risk assessed in line with the system outlined on our website at www.sra.org.uk/risk
The information the advisers look at will include the number (if any) complaints received, any disciplinary matters listed, website presentation, and Exempt Professional Firms Registration (EPF). If they decide a visit is appropriate, the SRA will send out a letter to the principal of the firm giving a date - usually within two to four weeks notice.
A visit usually comprises one adviser visiting over a couple of days. Where the firm in question is a large one, such as a city practice, this can involve up to six advisers and may take four to five days.
Suchitra Hammond, a private practice solicitor herself, is joint Regional Manager for London and the South East of England with colleague Adrienne Edgerley-Harris, and has been working in PSU for the past five years. “When we visit firms, we try to disrupt the normal working environment as little as possible and it really does help if fee earners co-operate with us.
“Basically we are looking to establish that the practice is putting clients first and providing a good quality service. This involves asking a lot of questions, seeing client files, verifying processes and systems, standard terms of business and other documentation. We will want to know how the firm handles complaints, and review all accounts information. Once we’ve completed our investigations we will hold a final meeting to discuss our findings.”
After the visit the team will produce a report, a copy of which is sent to the firm, summarising their findings. The conclusions may take a variety of forms including a summary of any breaches of the Code of Conduct and other Rules; action agreed by the firm to correct any irregularities; a date for a review and maybe a revisit, or a referral.
Where do solicitors go wrong?
Karen summarises: “The most common areas we find non-compliance are in conveyancing, probate, litigation and family matters. In addition we do find issues with regulated activities, referrals of business, anti-discrimination provisions, the way complaints are handled, and accounts rules.
“The new legal landscape is going to offer a number of challenges for the profession, and this, coupled with the difficult economy, is going to bring a lot of pressures to bear. However, if firms pay attention to their core duties and put client care and the public interest at the heart of everything they do, then they should be on the right road to compliance.”
Scope of a Standard Visit by Practice Standards Unit:
- Overarching review of professional rules and obligations
- Solicitors Code of Conduct 2007
- Solicitors Costs Information and Client Care Code 1999 (for work carried out before 1 July 2007)
- Complaints handling
- Money Laundering Regulations 2003 and 2007
- Solicitors’ Financial Services (Conduct of Business) Rules 2001 and Solicitors’ Financial Services (Scope) Rules 2001.
- Solicitors’ Accounts Rules 1998
Karen joined the Law Society’s Monitoring and Investigation Unit in 1993 where she spent 6 years visiting practices across England and Wales to check for compliance with the relevant rules and regulations. Karen then spent eight years in regulatory casework investigations becoming Head of a caseworking unit in 2001. Karen moved to join Practice Standards as the Head of Unit in November 2007, initially on secondment, and then on a permanent basis from January this year.
Suchitra Hammond Regional Manager - PSU
Suchitra joined the Practice Standards Unit in 2003 as an adviser visiting solicitors’ practices across England and Wales to check for compliance with the SRA’s rules and regulations. She came from private practice where she was the Head of the Housing Law department. Suchitra also undertook family work and was a member of the Law Society’s Family Panel. She took on a secondment to the role of Regional Manager in December 2006 and this is now her permanent role.
Lesley Miller of the SRA February 2009