For SRA regulated entities and solicitors, there are two weighty sets of proposals from the regulator, with consultation due to end in February 2022. Catch up on our event with the SRA, Howden and Jonathon Bray to help you form a response and get your voice heard.

Our event, co-hosted with Cardiff & District Law Society in January 2022 covered:

1. The options for post six-year run-off insurance cover and the Solicitors Indemnity Fund and;
2. Changes to the SRA’s fining powers

We’ve shared the proposals and consultation details below and also a full recording of the event – ideal for solicitors and law firms looking to gain clarity on both sets of proposals and inspire you to respond to the consultations – both of which close in February 2022.

We’ve also added the SRA speaker slides from the event and a link to Howden’s latest PII Market Report.

Event part 1

In this two-part event Juliet Oliver, General Counsel at the SRA clarified the options for the future of post six-year run-off insurance cover (PSYROC) and the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) – to help solicitors prepare their response to the consultation on these issues (this consultation closes on 15 February 2022). Colin Taylor, Director, Howden Insurance Brokers, joined us to present the broker’s view.

The PSYROC and SIF consultation paper and its annexes set out a range of options including:

• No future provision of post six-year run-off cover
• Continuing post six-year run-off cover with new funding arrangements, and through different models
• Arranging post six-year run-off cover through insurance on the open market

More information on the SRA SIF consultation can be found here.

Event part 2

Juliet Oliver, General Counsel, SRA, presented the SRA’s proposals for its financial penalties consultation and was followed by Rachael Eyre, Head of Regulatory Services at Jonathon Bray who shared her concerns and also highlighted positive aspects of these proposals.

The second part of our event explored the proposed changes to the SRA’s fining powers, to help solicitors and law firms respond to its consultation on its approach to financial penalties for law firms and solicitors where they fall short of the expected professional standards.

Unlike for alternative business structures, where The SRA has unlimited fining powers, it can only currently issue fines to traditional law firms, or individual solicitors, of up to £2,000. The consultation proposals are based on the SRA’s analysis of the last 10 years’ worth of enforcement experience.

The SRA’s Financial Penalties consultation seeks views on initial proposals to:

• Increase the maximum fine we can issue to £25,000
• Take into account the turnover or income of firms and individuals when setting fines
• Introduce a schedule of ‘fixed penalties’ of up to £1,500 to enable lesser issues to be dealt with more easily for all concerned

The consultation period for these changes ends on 11 February 2022. For more information on the proposals, click here.

Watch now

Useful links

• The SRA SIF consultation period ends on 15 February 2022. More information on the proposals can be found here.
• The Financial Fining Powers consultation period for these changes ends on 11 February 2022. For more information on the proposals, click here.
• For Juliet Oliver’s slides, used in Part 1 (PSYROC), click here.
• For Juliet Oliver’s slides, used in Part 2 (Financial Penalties), click here.
• For the latest Howden PII Market Report (published January 2022), please click here.