Regulatory
Information

Operating as an unregulated legal practice is a great fit for our clients. It means we can deliver the expertise that you need within a boutique practice without all of the costs of operating a regulated practice. However we do want to be open about the differences between our unregulated business and our regulated law firm, so there are some details on this below.

Working with our unregulated business is a great option for the type of work we carry out under our Flamingo subscription and most of the ad hoc work we do. However,  occasionally our clients need us to do something that requires us to be regulated, such as representing an individual in an employment tribunal claim.

A regulated law firm can offer additional services and protections which can sometimes be particularly important, such as:

· the handling of client money: our unregulated business cannot hold client money for you in the same way that a regulated firm does. Ordinarily, this is not a problem for our type of work. Client money held by regulated firms also benefits from possible access to the SRA compensation fund should a solicitor ever steal money from the client account (an extremely rare occurrence);
· SRA ‘minimum terms’ professional indemnity insurance cover: this significantly limits the circumstances in which an insurer can escape liability for funding claims in the event of a mistake being made and requires a minimum amount of cover of £2 million to £3 million;
· the SRA has questioned whether ‘legal professional privilege’ would apply outside of a regulated law firm. All solicitor work is confidential, including everything we do. Solicitor work could also benefit from ‘privilege’ which may not otherwise be available, which means that in some additional circumstances the client can refuse to disclose information to others. While we would argue privilege applies in these new models and believe there are good grounds for doing so, however the position is not as clear under this model as it is for regulated firms. For the type of legal work which we do, we find that our clients benefit greatly from working with our unregulated business. We can offer clients the reassurance of working with a qualified and experienced professional without incurring the full cost of a traditional law firm service. If you need to work with a regulated practice, we'll try our best to recommend a good fit. If you have any questions please contact us here.

We employ solicitors to give legal advice but we are not a traditional (regulated) firm of solicitors. Our solicitors are qualified and regulated as individuals in the same way as any solicitor within a traditional law firm. However, unlike traditional law firms, we are not authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).

For some types of legal work a client might need to use a regulated law firm. For most legal advice, however, it is not necessary for either us or our clients to incur the additional costs that being a regulated law firm entails.

While working with our solicitors can be more cost effective than working with a traditional law firm, our legal advice is still provided by qualified and experienced solicitors. The legal services our solicitors provide must meet the same high professional standards set for all solicitors.

As well as benefiting from years of study and training, all of our solicitors are overseen by independent regulatory and complaints bodies:

· our solicitors are regulated by the SRA and comply with the highest standards of ethical conduct required by them, including to advise you in your best interests (regardless of what is best for our business); and

· complaints regarding our legal services can be raised with an independent Legal Ombudsman (subject to you following our complaints policy). Note that the SRA and the Legal Ombudsman only deal with solicitors and a solicitor’s legal work. Any concerns about our business as a whole or any of our other work would be dealt with in the usual way, as for any other business.

Yes. We are not required to carry professional indemnity insurance which meets the minimum standards of cover required by the SRA. Nonetheless, we carry professional indemnity insurance to cover our legal advice up to a limit of £3m. This is so that, in the unlikely event that we make a mistake in your legal work, insurance is in place to protect you.

If you would like to see the policy to more fully understand the terms and exclusions or have any questions about the cover, please contact us.