The Solicitors Regulation Authority has renewed its partnership with legal adviser Capsticks for another three years – as well as appointing a second firm to support its team.

National firm Capsticks, which has acted on behalf of the solicitors regulator since 2009, will continue to support on investigations, enforcement, litigation and other work.

Blake Morgan, another national firm, will manage and present cases before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

The SRA said the appointments were ‘won through a competitive tender following a rigorous and comprehensive procurement process’. It did not say how many firms had applied to work for the regulator.

The two practices will work with the legal and enforcement team on investigations and represent the SRA at proceedings before the tribunal. The new contracts will begin on 1 November 2023 for an initial period of three years.

SRA

For Blake Morgan, the work will be led by regulatory partners James Danks, Clare Strickland and Delme Griffiths. The team at Capsticks will be led by regulatory partners Mark Whiting, Mark Rogers, Ian Brook and Nimi Bruce.

Juliet Oliver, deputy chief executive and general counsel, said: ‘We were focused on making sure those we appointed had the right expertise, would be able to provide work consistently to the expected high standard, while also offering excellent value for money.’

The SRA’s enforcement approach is in the middle of significant changes, following the increase in its fining powers to £25,000 and petitioning of the government to raise that again to an unlimited fining power.

The cost of enforcement has been a regular source of controversy and clashes between the SRA and SDT.

In February this year, the tribunal slashed the regulator’s cost applications in three different judgments published within eight days – finding the sums of money sought ‘excessive’ or without ‘proper explanation’.

In 2021, the SDT reduced a costs award from the £42,600 claimed by the SRA to £15,000, saying the commercial fee arrangement between the SRA and Capsticks was ‘totally disproportionate to what was a very straightforward case’.

Three years ago, a junior solicitor with Capsticks was banned after leaving a suitcase with sensitive documents on a train and then lying to the firm to buy herself time to find it. She was eventually allowed to practise after the SRA agreed to drop the case. It emerged in the initial ruling that Capsticks had not reported the solicitor's conduct, and the SRA later wrote to the firm reminding it of its obligations to promptly report possible misconduct.

 

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