It is very easy to panic in these situations and of course, we understand, moving home is one of the most stressful life events a person can go through and with an added complication such as your legal representative being closed, it certainly doesn’t help matters.
However, the residential conveyancing team at Stephensons Solicitors LLP have assisted in such closures to both the regulator closing the firm and the clients who are moving home and have therefore put together some drequently asked questions to assist you.
What is an intervention and what does it mean?
Every legal firm is regulated by either the Solicitors Regulation Authority or the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. With this, comes strict rules on how firms should conduct themselves and equally consequences if those rules are breached.
An intervention occurs when the regulator sees no other option but to remove the firm’s regulated activities, this would include the ability to buy and sell homes which results in the firm closing as it can no longer sell legal products.
As part of an intervention, the regulator may instruct a managing agent, such as Stephensons to assist in the closure and take the files for safe keeping so that clients can instruct another solicitor to handle the matter on their behalf.
Why has my firm been closed?
The honest answer is. We cannot say. Due to confidentiality, we are unable to disclose why firms are closed, just that they have been and that we are here to assist where we can.
Regulators do not take a decision to close a firm lightly and will only do so when client’s interests are put at risk.
How do I know if you are genuine?
On the day of the intervention, certain steps are taken to ensure the closure is made public. You can visit the following websites which would confirm the intervention had occurred and who the regulator has appointed as managing agent:
- SRA Recent decisions Solicitors Regulation Authority
- CLC – The Specialist Property Law Regulator
- Solicitor Disciplinary Tribunal and SRA interventions Practice Law Society Gazette
I am due to move house today and I cannot contact the fee earner at the closed firm, what do I do?
During a closure, usually, a residential conveyancing specialist is sent with the intervention team to identify any urgent transactions that have exchanged and are due to complete imminently. Both Natalie Sellers and Natalie Bradley, who are solicitors in our residential conveyancing team at Stephensons have both been appointed into these roles for various interventions.
During the initial meetings, the solicitor sent to assist will speak with the staff of the intervened firm and collate the files that have exchanged. Once obtained, those clients will be contacted as soon as possible by the residential conveyancing team at Stephensons to discuss their next steps.
Of course, given the complexities and fast paced environment, some files may not be identified quickly. Therefore, if you are aware that your firm has been closed, and you have not been contacted by anyone at Stephensons in the morning, we would recommend you contact our interventions team who will be able to assist by raising the issue with the solicitor attending the intervention and allow them to react accordingly.
What does it mean when a file is deemed urgent?
Depending on the regulators instructions, depends on the answer to this question. Usually, if you have exchanged contracts and completion is imminent, your file would be deemed urgent and the regulator will ask Stephensons to step into the shoes of the closed firm and complete the transaction on your behalf.
As part of this, Stephensons' fees are covered by the regulator, therefore there usually will not be an additional cost to you in respect of fees, however you may be asked to meet your disbursements again, such as the Land Registration fee which would be charged in order to update the register with the Land Registry following completion.
If you have not exchanged contracts, unfortunately your file would not be categorised as urgent. In this instance you instruct a firm of your choice including Stephensons who would be pleased to assist. As the firm you have appointed is not the original firm , your completion date will be delayed as the process will need to commence again.
In all instances, you as the client have a freedom of choice as to which solicitors you wish to use and you do not have to use Stephensons whether the matter is deemed urgent or not.
Is there anything I can do to assist?
Of course, this is a stressful time for you and our team want to make this process as smooth as possible. There are however a few things you can do to help us.
- If you have a mortgage broker, we would recommend you contact them immediately after speaking with us as your mortgage offer will need to be updated to reflect that a new solicitor now acts for you and the lender to ensure that they can obtain the monies required to complete.
- Speak with your estate agent who can contact the chain quickly to let them know that there is an issue. Whilst this can cause an initial panic in the chain, the solicitors involved in the chain can react accordingly and ensure they are in the correct position to carry on with the completion should a new solicitor need to be involved.
- Trust the process. We here at Stephensons have completed urgent transactions for regulators before and will always try and ensure that clients are updated as quickly as possible as events unfold and react accordingly to ensure your interests are protected as much as possible.
I purchased my property before the firm was closed and the purchase has not been registered with the Land Registry, can Stephensons help?
Sometimes, we can be instructed by the regulator to assist with post completion issues.
In these matters, the regulator may choose to pay our fees to assist you in updating the property’s title with the Land Registry. Alternatively, you can ask Stephensons to provide you with a quote to deal with this,
If you believe your property has not been registered with the Land Registry and one of the listed intervened firms represented you in the purchase, please contact our interventions team who will be able to assist.
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