SRA told to speed up investigations on coal health claims

26/06/2009

The legal services complaints commissioner has called on the Solicitors Regulation Authority to speed up investigations into law firms involved in miners’ compensation cases.

In a statement published this month in lieu of an audit of the SRA’s handling of the coal health compensation scheme, Zahida Manzoor says she ‘continues to have concerns’ over the length of time taken to prepare cases for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Last year, the commissioner set the SRA a target for complaints to take no longer than 18 months to refer to the SDT. In 2009/10 she wants the SRA to investigate and lodge cases within 12 months.

The four-page audit statement says: ‘Although she [Manzoor] acknowledges that these cases are complex the commissioner continues to have concerns over the length of time it has taken the SRA to prepare cases for the SDT, particularly as much of the evidence against the solicitors concerned is not new.’ It adds: ‘She is looking to the SRA to conclude its investigations quicker, so that the appropriate sanctions can be imposed by the SDT and, where a solicitor should not be practising, they are “struck off” the solicitors’ roll sooner.’

To date the SRA has completed 56 inspections in connection with the coal health scheme and found regulatory breaches by 26 firms and 103 solicitors. Sanctions imposed include striking off the roll, suspension, reprimands and fines. Fourteen cases, involving more than 65 solicitors, have yet to appear before the tribunal.

Despite the criticism, the statement said the SRA ‘appears to be fulfilling its regulatory role in relation to miners’ complaints effectively’.

Responding to the statement, the SRA’s chief executive Antony Townsend said the SRA is ‘dealing vigorously’ with the miners’ compensation issue. The results ‘send out a clear message that solicitors who compromise their clients’ interest will face prosecution by the SRA,’ he said.

While the SRA would have liked to have brought the cases to a quicker conclusion, he said the cases ‘have been complex, many have been fiercely fought, and it has been essential to investigate and prosecute them thoroughly. The results to date have vindicated this approach’.

Meanwhile, the SRA’s handling of issues involving black and minority ethnic solicitors has moved from a ‘defend and blame’ culture to an attitude of ‘learn and develop’, according to an interim review following Lord Ouseley’s report into disproportionate regulatory outcomes.

Report authors Lord Ouseley and Bob Purkiss carried out the interim study gathering evidence through one-to-one interviews, attending meetings and examining documents. They concluded that ‘culture change is being driven in the SRA through decision-making arrangements’ and that ‘progress must be sustained’.

Original Article: Law Gazette