The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued its first fixed penalty notice against a firm failing to supply diversity data on time.

HG Legal Ltd, a criminal firm based in Leicestershire, was ordered to pay £750 and costs of £150 by the regulator.

An SRA notice states that the firm was in breach of the code of conduct by failing to comply with its demand to submit workforce data within the deadline. HG Legal has now complied.

The fine was the first stage one fixed financial penalty issued for this infraction, after regulations were changed last year to allow the SRA to issue sanctions without a full disciplinary process for certain low-level breaches.

Under the reforms, the regulator introduced a schedule of fixed penalties: £750 for a first breach and £1,500 for a subsequent breach of the same category within three years.

The fines can be issued for failing to meet transparency requirements, breaches of certain anti-money laundering regulations and providing inaccurate or incomplete information about compliance officers or owners.

In November, three firms received the first fixed penalty notices after failing to comply with transparency rules.

Chief executive Paul Philip said at the time: ‘We brought in fixed penalties so we could deal with non-complex breaches of our rules more swiftly. That saves everyone time, cost and stress. It also appears that the threat of fixed penalties is proving effective in bringing firms into compliance.’

Under the code of conduct, firms must monitor, report and publish workplace diversity data as prescribed. The code goes on to say that firms must respond ‘promptly’ to SRA requests and to provide ‘full and accurate explanations, information and documentation’.

 

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