'Tens of thousands' affected by law firm collapse

Tens of thousands of live cases have been impacted by the sudden closure of a major law firm, it has been revealed.

Sheffield-based PM Law closed without warning on 2 February, leaving hundreds of employees out of work and many clients stranded mid-transaction, including in the middle of house sales.

PM Law, a network of firms trading under a single umbrella brand, had 24 offices in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Cumbria and Berkshire, and specialised in personal injury, wills and conveyancing.

In a statement the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), which intervened after the firm's closure, said it had already issued several emergency grants and contacted more than 100 clients with urgent matters.

The BBC has made repeated attempts to contact PM Law at their Sheffield headquarters in person, by telephone, via email.

We have also put questions to them via the SRA and the law firm appointed as intervention agents by the body. In addition, we have put questions to a number of senior staff via business social network LinkedIn.

The SRA said since the closure it had taken possession of files and money, including clients' funds, held by the firm.

Paul Hastings, SRA Director of Client Protection, said: "Our intervention agent [Gordons LLP] has identified tens of thousands of live cases, many of which involve sensitive and important matters such as personal injury claims, house sales, and probate issues.

"We appreciate that this may be a stressful time. Clients can rest assured that our agents are diligently working through these files to identify and contact them.

"Our goal is to get to everyone as soon as possible, prioritising those in most urgent need. We have, for example, made several emergency grants to allow clients to move house when they had already exchanged contracts."

According to its website, PM Law employed over 600 people at firms including Proddow Mackay, Butterworths Solicitors, WB Pennine Solicitors and Angela Viney Conveyancing Services.

For clients like Rich Fifield, from Essex, the financial strain and anxiety are ongoing.

Fifield said he ended up liable for two mortgage payments after Valerie Holmes Law in Brighouse failed to use his money to pay off his old mortgage before shutting down.

As a result, he said, he is now being asked to pay nearly £3,000 a month.

Fifield said law firm Gordons LLP - the intervention agent - had told him to claim the missing £175,000 mortgage money from the SRA compensation fund.

"I sent the application off last Friday and so far have only received an automated response saying it will take them 10 weeks to assign the application to a caseworker," he told the BBC.

"Not knowing when - or even if - I'll get any money back is truly horrible."

According to the SRA, more than 50 applications for its compensation fund have been received to date, with some emergency payments now under way.

It said more than 100 courts across the country had been notified about PM Law's closure and the impact this could have on potentially urgent litigation matters.

The SRA said its investigation into the firm continued, adding it was "working quickly to gather all the relevant information".

Further details on how Gordons LLP will be supporting clients are available on the firm's website.

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