Solicitor's firm closed down? What an SRA intervention means for you

What an intervention is

An intervention is the Solicitors Regulation Authority using its statutory power to close a solicitor's practice at once, in the public interest, to protect clients. When the SRA intervenes it takes possession of all documents and papers relating to the firm's clients, including files and accounting records, and of all money held by the firm, including clients' money. From that moment the firm can no longer act for anyone.

The SRA does not take over your case or do legal work for you. Instead it appoints intervention agents, usually a specialist firm of solicitors, to go through the files and accounts, deal with urgent client matters (including any emergency legal steps), and return files and money to the people they belong to.

First: confirm it really is an intervention

Firms also close for ordinary reasons (retirement, merger, insolvency), and the steps differ. To check whether the SRA has intervened:

• Search the firm on the SRA register: you can look the firm up here free, or use the SRA's own Solicitor check. The record of an intervened firm links to the intervention decision, which normally identifies the intervention agent; if you cannot find the agent's details, contact the SRA directly.
• The SRA also publishes news of larger interventions on sra.org.uk, often with pages written for clients of that specific firm.
• If the firm has simply gone quiet and you cannot confirm anything, the solicitor not responding guide covers the escalation steps for that situation.

Your files and documents

All client files, deeds, wills and accounting records are taken into the SRA's control and kept safe. The intervention agent schedules the papers, works out who each file belongs to, and contacts clients about returning them or passing them to a new firm on your instructions. Archived files, deeds and will stores are included and kept safely too, though locating papers from long-finished matters can take time, and clients of closed matters are not always contacted automatically: ask if you need something.

If your matter is live and urgent, do not wait to be contacted. The agent tries to identify and contact clients with urgent cases, but may not spot from the file that yours is one of them. Contact the agent named in the SRA's intervention decision quickly (or the SRA itself if you cannot find the agent's details), explain what the matter is, and say exactly what is time-critical (an exchange date, a court hearing, a limitation date, a mortgage offer expiry).

Your money

Money in the firm's accounts, including client account money, is transferred to the SRA. The SRA and the intervention agent then work through the firm's accounts to establish who the money belongs to, and return it where the owner can be traced. This takes time, because the records of an intervened firm are not always in good order.

Two situations have a further route:

• Money is missing: where money was stolen or not accounted for, you can apply to the SRA Compensation Fund. Payments are discretionary, not an entitlement: you need to show that the firm held your money and that you have suffered, or are likely to suffer, financial loss. Claims are made through the SRA's website, and the SRA points intervened clients towards the fund directly.
• You cannot wait: if you cannot wait for the money held on trust to be worked out and distributed, the Compensation Fund may also be able to make a discretionary payment to cover a shortfall, on the same conditions.

Moving your matter to a new firm

An intervened firm cannot finish your work, so ongoing matters need a new solicitor. When choosing one, a few minutes of checking is worth it, especially after an experience like this: the legitimacy guide covers the five free checks, and you can check any firm's website free to see whether it publishes the price information and complaints information the SRA expects. Give the new firm the intervention agent's details and your file reference so it can request the file; allow for the transfer taking some time.

One caution: after publicised interventions, fraudsters sometimes contact former clients pretending to be the agent or a new firm, asking for payment or bank details. Verify who you are dealing with independently before sending anything, and if you are told bank details have changed, read the bank details changed guide first.

This guide is general information for England and Wales, not legal advice about any specific matter or firm. Website findings are automated, come from public pages only, and are not a legal opinion.

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