Safeguarding clients and legal documents: Capita’s partnership with the SRA

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is a key regulatory body for solicitors and law firms across England and Wales, setting and upholding professional standards to protect consumers and maintain public trust in legal services. When a law firm closes, whether due to financial issues or regulatory breaches, SRA’s intervention team steps in to secure and repatriate essential documents back to clients. Through our close partnership with the SRA, we handle the collection, sorting, and secure storage of documents, ensuring they are returned safely and efficiently. 

Challenges

The recent increase in large-scale interventions in the legal sector has brought new challenges. When larger firms close, the intervention workload rises substantially, requiring fast, efficient and sensitive handling of a vast number of documents. The key challenges we faced included:

• High document volume

Each intervention brought a high volume of documents needing organised tracking, sorting, and secure storage.

• Urgency and sensitivity

Interventions often occur with minimal notice, and we handle documents of immense personal value, such as wills and deeds.

• Client communications

We needed to respond to high volumes of client enquiries with professionalism, conducting strict identity checks while offering sensitive and supportive communications.

Solutions

We responded quickly to the increase in the number and size of interventions by scaling up operations to handle the growing demands of these complex interventions. Recognising the need for increased capacity, we recruited and trained 40 additional staff members in 2023, equipping each team member to manage sensitive documents and work directly with clients impacted by firm closures.

To ensure efficiency in document handling, we introduced an advanced warehouse management system, which allows us to track, store, and manage documents in real time. Dedicated rows in our warehouse are allocated solely for intervention-related documents, allowing for organised storage and quick retrieval.

To further support clients, we established a dedicated contact centre to handle enquiries related to document repatriation. Our trained staff members manage each client interaction with sensitivity, validating identities rigorously to maintain security.

Results

Our targeted, client-centred approach has allowed us to consistently meet expectations, delivering effective results for the SRA and clients. Key achievements include:

• One million documents indexed in 2023: We meticulously indexed a vast number of documents, ensuring efficient tracking and secure storage.
• 15,000 calls managed: Our dedicated contact centre handled thousands of client enquiries with care, guiding each client through the process and ensuring identity validations.
• 32,000 client documents repatriated: We returned thousands of valuable legal documents, such as wills and deeds, to clients, meeting our commitment to client security and satisfaction.
• Large intervention achievement: In the large-scale intervention, we processed 150,000 document boxes - spanning 39 miles when lined up. This logistical feat underscores our operational capacity and precision.

Delivering efficiency in every intervention

Our partnership with the SRA demonstrates the critical role of adaptability, operational efficiency, and maintaining a client focus when it comes to legal interventions. By scaling our operations, implementing innovative solutions, and prioritising client care, we are continuing to meet the evolving needs of the SRA and the clients affected by interventions.

Learn more about Capita’s scalable, client-focused legal records management solutions that can drive efficiency and reliability of your practice at content.capita.com/Legal_document_management. Contact us to explore how our space-saving and cost-effective services can work for you.

E-mail: neil.skellam@capita.com

Website: www.capita.com

LinkedIn: Capita