The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has provided £9 million in compensation to clients of PM Law, which closed unexpectedly at the start of February. The money has been largely used to facilitate property transactions which have been delayed as a result of the closure of the Sheffield law firm and its 20-plus affiliate firms.
The £9 million was made up of £5.6 million paid out of client money held by the firm at the time the SRA intervened, with a further £3.7 million paid out by the SRA’s compensation fund. The figures represent 38 of the most urgent requests after the SRA revealed it has received more than 250 applications to the fund.
PM Law and its related entities placed notices on its doors at the start of February announcing its immediate closure, leaving 650 staff unemployed and thousands of property and litigation transactions in limbo. The SRA intervened and has subsequently confirmed it is investigating “potential fraud, including the misappropriation of client money” after its initial investigation.
In the last week, HMLR has confirmed it is “acting to support customers with applications submitted by PM Law and its affiliates” and is encouraging movers to appoint new legal representation as soon as possible. It is making the previous applications available to newly appointed firms and, where a new firm is yet to be appointed, HMLR said it is writing directly to as many of those affected as possible.
Amongst a list of frequently asked questions published by HMLR are directions to check if an application was previously uploaded by PM Law, and information about accessing documentation either directly or via Gordons LLP. The full list of FAQs can be found here.
On compensation for clients, the SRA said:
“This is a complex process, and we are working through applications as quickly as possible. We need to make sure that we deal with all applications fairly and the right people get the right amount of money returned. It will take some time to resolve these matters, so we continue to request understanding and patience whilst we do this.”
