The Solicitors Regulation Authority has promised to come down hard on firms who fail to manage their exposure to financial risk and do no manage closure efficiently, including action against directors such as putting conditions on practicing certificates.
SRA Executive Director Samantha Barrass spoke at a compliance conference in London today and told attendees that the regulator is seeing and increasing number of firms failing to manage their exposure to financial risk. The SRA have identified 150 firms that are in significant financial difficulty and will therefore be monitored closely.
Ms Barrass said that a ‘toxic combination of factors including the current economic climate, the reforms to civil litigation and lenders tightening on borrowing is causing a perfect financial storm’.
She made it clear that the SRA would take a ‘hard line’ against COLPs and COFAs and other senior individuals in firms who fail to address these risks appropriately.
To read the speech in full, click here.
