Solicitors Regulation Authority chief executive Paul Philip today conceded that the regulator has lessons to learn from the Axiom Ince debacle - despite previously rejecting criticisms of its actions in the runup to the 2023 intervention.
In a statement responding to the Legal Services Board’s announcement of sanctions, Philip said: 'Legal services help people live and thrive, as well as supporting business investment and economic growth. Suspected fraud and other failures around Axiom Ince prevent that and damage essential public trust and confidence.
‘It is essential that we learn from the Axiom Ince case in order to address the rapidly changing sector landscape. We have been working over the past months with the LSB on our plan to address and implement its directions.
‘We have already taken action, including consulting on safeguarding client money and addressing the risks that can emerge from concentrations of ownership, management and compliance in a single person. We are also starting to improve our data and market intelligence.’
Today's statement contrasts with Philip’s combative initial response to the independent report into the Axiom Ince collapse, in which he said last October: ‘There is a lot in the report that we don’t agree with, and we don’t understand the basis for enforcement action. However, we think it is important to focus on working with the LSB and others to tackle future challenges in the legal sector.’
Today, the SRA said it is 'developing a robust plan to address the [LSB] directions and has already taken action on some of the areas identified for improvement'. Such actions include:
- A consultation on the future of client money in legal services and safeguarding consumers. It expects to publish the outcomes and next steps from this before the end of the year.
- Increased investment and resources for an updated and proactive risk-based approach to regulation. This will seek to improve early identification of risks to the public interest, as well as required responses and mitigations needed.
Philip is due to retire from his post at the end of this year. His successor has yet to be announced.
