Solicitor regulator censured for 'systemic failures'

A legal oversight body has criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for failing to protect consumers affected by the collapse of a Sheffield-based law firm.

The Legal Services Board (LSB), which oversees approved regulators to ensure they operate in the public interest, has issued a formal public censure against the SRA.

It said the SRA had "repeatedly failed to act" over concerns about SSB Group which specialised in "no win, no fee" cases, where clients pay nothing if their case is unsuccessful.

Catherine Brown, interim LSB chair, said SSB's clients received unexpected bills for "life-changing" sums when it went into administration in 2024, with up to 1,400 people affected.

"SSB's former clients have paid a heavy price," she said.

"The SRA had repeated opportunities to act, and it did not. That failure allowed harm to grow, and it undermined public confidence in legal regulation."

The SRA received more than 100 reports raising concerns about SSB between January 2019 and March 2024 but repeatedly failed to act effectively on the warning signs, the LSB said.

Some of SSB's clients faced costs of up to £40,000 after the firm collapsed.

Naz Shah, MP for Bradford West, told the Commons in 2024 that some of the bills had reached "hundreds of thousands".

"People are having to literally raid their pension pots and getting bills and bailiffs knocking on the door," she said.

The majority of the claims were linked to allegedly faulty cavity wall insulation and damp-proofing work, dating back to up to a decade ago.

As part of its enforcement action, the LSB has directed the SRA to set and publish performance targets to address "serious and systemic failures" identified by an independent review commissioned by the LSB last year.

Key areas where the SRA had failed included underusing its statutory investigative powers, over-relying on information provided by SSB and having delayed responses to clear red flags about the firm.

Other concerns included inadequate protection for clearly vulnerable clients and poor internal governance, documentation and decision-making.

The SRA has apologised, acknowledged the harm caused and committed to a programme of reforms in response to the review.

Brown added: "Now [the SRA] must demonstrate, through its actions, that it has fundamentally changed its approach and that it is committed to, and capable of, effectively protecting consumers."

This is only the second time the LSB has issued a public censure, the first having been almost eight years ago against the Law Society.

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