SRA: Undesirable for Ms Brown to be involved in ABS
The non-lawyer former owner of a law firm has been disqualified from involvement in another one after breaching the terms of its authorisation as an alternative business structure (ABS).
Virgo Consultancy Services continued operating even after the senior lawyer key to the ABS licence left.
Hilary Brown was an owner and manager of Virgo until the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) shut it down in December 2023.
Connected to talent agency Virgo People, the South Wales-based ABS provided visa and other services for performers, entertainers and sportspeople.
As it was an ABS, Ms Brown was made subject to a disqualification order under section 99 of the Legal Services Act 2007, meaning that she is disqualified from being a manager or holding either of the compliance roles at an SRA-regulated practice.
A notice published by the regulator yesterday said that, between 31 March 2023 and 14 December 2023, she breached the terms of the firm’s authorisation by failing to have in place at least one lawyer manager, a lawyer manager or employee with at least three years of experience to supervise the firm’s work, and someone in either compliance post.
This was triggered by the departure of solicitor Chukwuemeka Mmegwa, who was rebuked by the SRA last year for multiple failures at Virgo that took place under his watch.
The SRA said he was “unsuitable for a managerial, supervisory or compliance role” and so it also put conditions on his future practice to ensure he did not hold such a role.
Yesterday’s notice went on that, between 7 August and 19 November 2023, Ms Brown continued to provide immigration advice and assistance to clients “despite knowing that she and the firm were no longer authorised to do so”.
There were also accounts rule failures – including not obtaining accountant’s reports for two years – not co-operating with the SRA during a forensic investigation and, when acting in two separate matters, a failure to maintain accurate files or provide a bill before using client money to pay the firm’s costs.
The SRA said these failures made it “undesirable” for Ms Brown to act as a head of legal practice, head of finance and administration or a manager of an ABS in future.
She was also directed to pay costs of £1,350.
