The Solicitors Compensation Fund has been paid £1.3 million following High Court proceedings arising from thefts in a Midlands law firm.


It is the culmination of a long-running dispute against the accountants of defunct West Midlands firm Payne & Co, which was shut down in 1995 after a massive shortfall was found in its client account. The firm's accountants, Sephton & Co, had failed to qualify its reports, but Sephton's insurers then fought the negligence case launched by the Law Society all the way to the House of Lords, which ruled in the Society's favour.



Subsequent negotiations led to the settlement. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said the recovery should help reduce solicitors' future contributions to the fund.



The SRA was represented by Timothy Dutton QC and Rosalind Phelps of Fountain Court Chambers, and by Iain Miller of Bevan Brittan.