SRA Standards and Regulations

Grants which may be made from the Fund

A person may apply for a grant out of the Fund, if the loss referred to in rule 3.3 relates to services provided: by the defaulting practitioner for them; or to, or as, a trustee where they are a beneficiary of the estate or trust. A person who is not a client of the defaulting practitioner may apply for a grant out of the Fund if they: were a party on the other side of a legal matter on which...

Defaulting practitioners

A defaulting practitioner means: a solicitor or an REL who at the date of the relevant act or omission was: practising in an authorised body; or practising in a non-commercial body; a solicitor or an REL who at the date of the relevant act or omission: was self-employed and practising in their own name, and not through a trading name or service company; did not employ anyone in connection with...

Grants to defaulting practitioners

The SRA may make a grant to a defaulting practitioner who or which has suffered or is likely to suffer loss by reason of their liability to any client in direct consequence of an act or omission of: in the case of a defaulting solicitor, defaulting REL or defaulting RFL, any of their employees or any fellow manager; in the case of a defaulting recognised body, any of its employees or managers...

Grants in respect of statutory trusts

The SRA may make a grant to alleviate a deficiency in a statutory trust held by the SRA. The SRA may make a grant to a person where the money would have been due to that person but for their claim having been extinguished under rule 9.2 of the SRA Intervention Powers (Statutory Trust) Rules 2011 or rule 8.2 of the SRA Statutory Trust Rules.

Conduct of the applicant and contribution to loss

A grant may be refused or reduced to take account of: dishonest, improper or unreasonable conduct by the applicant or anyone acting on their behalf: in the circumstances that gave rise to the application; in relation to the application itself; or failure to pursue the application promptly, co-operatively and in good faith. A grant may be refused or reduced to take account of any act or...

Losses outside the remit of the Fund

For the avoidance of doubt, the SRA shall not make a grant in respect of losses that: arise solely by reason of professional negligence by a defaulting practitioner, or the employee or manager of a defaulting practitioner, save as provided for in rule 3.4; are indirect or consequential, save where the SRA exercises its discretion to make a grant: under rule 8; for costs of completing or...

Foreign lawyers

The SRA shall not make a grant in respect of any act or omission of an REL, or the employee of an REL, where such act or omission took place outside the UK, unless the SRA is satisfied that the act or omission was, or was closely connected with, the act or omission of a solicitor or the employee of a solicitor, or that the act or omission was closely connected with the REL's practice in the...

Apportionment and multi-party issues

Where the loss has been sustained as a result of the act or omission of more than one party, the SRA will consider the role of each party in contributing to the applicant's loss in deciding whether to make a grant and, if so, the amount of any grant. In the case of a defaulting licensed body, the SRA will consider the extent to which the loss is attributable to an act or omission which falls...

Application and time limit

An applicant must make an application for a grant in the prescribed form, and within 12 months of the date they first became aware, or should reasonably have become aware, of the loss. The SRA may extend the 12 month period in rule 15.1 if satisfied that there are circumstances which justify the extension of the time limit. The applicant must provide information, documents and evidence...

Notice to defaulting practitioner

The SRA may not make a grant unless it has given not less than 8 days' notice to the defaulting practitioner informing them of the nature and value of the application, unless it appears to the SRA that it would not be reasonably practicable to give such notice, or the grant should be made urgently. Where the SRA has made a grant urgently in accordance with rule 16.1, the SRA shall as soon as,...