The Legal Services Board (LSB) has today issued a formal public censure against the solicitors’ regulator, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This follows the regulator’s failure to protect consumers affected by the collapse of Sheffield-based law firm SSB Group Limited (SSB).
SSB specialised in so-called ‘no win, no fee’ cases – a type of legal arrangement where clients are promised they will pay nothing if their case is unsuccessful. When the firm went into administration in January 2024, many clients faced unexpected costs and uncertainty.
The censure marks the conclusion of the statutory process initiated by the LSB following an independent review that found a series of serious and repeated failures by the SRA in handling concerns about the SSB. The SRA received over 100 reports raising concerns about SSB between January 2019 and March 2024, but repeatedly failed to act effectively on the warning signs.
As part of its enforcement action, the LSB has directed the SRA to set and publish mandatory performance targets to address the identified failures. These targets must be published within seven days and will be monitored by the LSB. The LSB has made clear it is prepared to take further action if sufficient progress is not made.
Catherine Brown, interim Chair of the Legal Services Board, said:
“SSB’s former clients have paid a heavy price – many threatened with losing life-changing sums of money and facing serious personal distress. The SRA had repeated opportunities to act, and it did not. That failure allowed harm to grow, and it undermined public confidence in legal regulation.
“This censure is a clear public statement that the standard of regulation we saw was not acceptable. The SRA has accepted the findings of the review and committed to implementing its recommendations. Now it must demonstrate, through its actions, that it has fundamentally changed its approach and that it is committed to, and capable of, effectively protecting consumers.”
The collapse of SSB continues to have a significant impact on consumers’ daily lives.
The review identified six key areas where the SRA fell short of the standards expected of a regulator:
- repeated delays in responding to clear warning signs about SSB’s conduct and finances
- siloed working that meant staff failed to identify patterns of risk across the firm
- over-reliance on information provided by SSB itself, rather than independent verification
- underuse of the SRA’s statutory powers to investigate and gather evidence
- inadequate protection for vulnerable clients, despite clear indicators that many were at heightened risk
- poor internal governance, documentation, and decision-making.
The SRA has apologised, acknowledged the harm caused to SSB’s former clients and committed to a programme of reforms, including cultural change, improved risk assessment, strengthened evidence-gathering, and enhanced financial oversight of firms.
- The LSB has produced a guide for the public on the censure.
- The Board’s decision to take enforcement action is outlined in its Decision Notice.