Indemnity insurance

When the profession ditched the Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF), a compelling reason for the move was that many good firms were paying for the failures of the few. Now, a decade later, solicitors are back in exactly the same position. Only, the ‘few’ could become substantially more over the next few months.

Professional services firms (PSFs) have managed to overcome the potential decision-making “paralysis” inherent in the partnership structure, new research has found. It said the partnership model can often complicate decisions, with non-contentious issues quickly flaring up to the point where they threaten the retention of partners.

Many conveyancing law firms are ill-prepared to comply with anti-money laundering obligations despite property being the number one target of criminals seeking to invest the proceeds of crime, a leading expert in the field told an AML conference in London last week.

High street solicitors must adopt an attitude of suspicion and paranoia to avoid becoming “collateral damage” in police efforts to clamp down on fraud, an anti-money laundering (AML) conference in London heard last week.

Suspicious activity reports submitted by solicitors have led to the successful prosecution of frauds worth millions of pounds, according to the Serious Organised Crime Agency.

The Law Society has issued further reassurance to the 2,911 law firms insured by Quinn that there is no reason to fear for the strength of their cover. It came on the same day as the society also issued a practice note on the position if a qualifying insurer goes insolvent.

File reviews are generally seen by law firms as something they must implement to ensure they comply but the benefits are so often overlooked, explains Jaunita Gobby of compliance consultancy Legal Eye

A rising tide of claims against solicitors and a huge increase in the number of firms falling into the assigned risks pool means law firms should prepare for a 10% jump in professional indemnity premiums this year, broker Lockton has warned.

The Financial Services and Markets Tribunal has upheld a Financial Services Authority (FSA) decision permanently banning a solicitor from working in any capacity in financial services and fining him and the FSA-regulated law firm of which he is senior partner, £400,000.

The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority today pushed ahead with reforms to the assigned risks pool (ARP) despite the threat of a legal challenge from the Black Solicitors Network. March’s “in principle” decision to close the ARP to new firms and halve the length of time firms can spend in it to a year was confirmed after the board considered a full equality impact assessment which concluded that both proposals had a potential adverse impact on race equality.