Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales launches a review of consumer protection

The SRA has initiated a comprehensive review of consumer protection measures in response to the emergence of new risks in the legal sector. The review targets two primary areas: firstly, enhancing risk identification, monitoring, and approval processes for regulated law firms to mitigate consumer harm, particularly around client money; secondly, assessing the adequacy of current compensation fund arrangements, amid increasing claims. The aim will be to strike a balance between consumer protection and the affordability of legal services. This review follows a surge in SRA interventions, which have highlighted the need for closer scrutiny of, for example,  rapidly expanding “accumulator” firms. Consumer input via research and engagement with stakeholders, including legal and consumer groups, is central to shaping the review. Statements from the SRA Chair Anna Bradley and CEO Paul Philip both emphasize the need for a balanced approach to prevent firm failures while protecting consumers’ interests and ensuring that greater protection does not add disproportionately to the cost of legal services.

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