Solicitors found guilty of breaking rules could be further hit in the pocket with the cost of investigations doubling under plans put forward by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Changes could be implemented in two phases as the Solicitors Regulation Authority moves towards full cost recovery. Proposals could also include a new £6,500 fee for on-site inspections.

The first set of changes being proposed will be implemented in January, with further rises in 2011. In 2008, the SRA’s conduct investigation unit and its regulatory investigations completed 9,501 desk-based examinations. Its forensic investigations unit carries out on-site inspections and last year completed 412 accounts inspections.

The SRA charges £300 for an investigation that lasts under two hours. Under the proposals, this will rise to £450 in January 2010, then to £600 a year later. Investigations lasting between two and eight hours cost £600. This will rise to £900 in January, going up to £1,200 in 2011. Investigations that take between eight and 16 hours to conduct cost £1,350. This will rise to £2,000 in January, increasing to £2,700 in 2011.

The average cost to the SRA of an on-site inspection is £6,500. Due to the economic climate a charge of £2,000 will come in, in January, with the full £6,500 being implemented in 2011. An SRA draft consultation paper outlining the plans says: ‘When exercising the power to recover the costs of a disciplinary investigation which includes an on-site inspection resulting in a formal regulatory sanction, it is proposed that an additional fixed charge will be applied.’

The Legal Services Act and SRA (Cost of Investigations) Regulations 2009 allow the authority to carry out a full review of the way charges are calculated and applied. The report says ‘We recognise that these are significant decisions that require careful thought and full consultation.’

The SRA will start consulting on the proposals later this month.