We have successfully assisted individuals and law firms over the past ten years to resolve difficulties experienced with the SDT and SRA.

Our team includes consultants and non-practising solicitors.

Prior to joining DG Legal, Melanie O'Brien was a senior litigation solicitor at Herbert Smith LLP. Melanie has an excellent eye for detail and is tenacious in her approach.

Matt Howgate was formerly the Senior legal advisor to the Legal Services Commission and acted as legal advisor and secretary to the Costs Appeals Committee and Contract Review Body. He is highly experienced in all aspects of practice management and regulatory compliance and regularly advises and represents firms before tribunals and adjudicators.

Bhavni Shah joined us in 2008 from the Law Society where she had been a Lexcel Executive since 2003. At the Law Society, she specialised in Law Society/SRA Regulation and Best Practice. She managed a portfolio of approximately 300 practices in the Lexcel scheme, delivered training to the Lexcel assessors and consultants and was responsible for monitoring the application of the Practice Management Standards amongst third parties including Lexcel Assessors.

David Gilmore has represented a large number of solicitors before adjudicators and tribunals and has won the overwhelming majority of the cases in which he was instructed. In addition to having substantial experience of defending firms, he also gained significant experience in relation to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal’s approach to intervention while a Senior Manager at the Legal Services Commision where he assisted the SDT in pursuing a large number of cases against firms.

DG Legal is also pleased to work with Richard Ling-Williams who has unrivalled experience in dealing with the application of the SRA Accounts Rules. Richard has over 27 years experience of assisting solicitors with their accounting obligations, tackling employee fraud and in dealing with investigations from the Law Society/SRA and HMRC. Richard is a member of the Institute of Legal Cashiers.


Services

The degree of advice and assistance that a firm requires varies from firm to firm. Some firms instruct us when they are faced with an upcoming audit or are having to negotiate with or make representations to the SRA or SDT following an audit or investigation. Many firms also instruct us before they are threatened with an audit and so ensure that they are properly compliant with the SRA Code of Conduct and Handbook before external issues arise.

The services which we offer are tailored to our clients’ requirements but include ‘mock audits’, in-house CPD training, and advice and assistance with compliance issues, interventions and appeals.

Case Studies

A medium sized firm of solicitors in the South West had been battling with the SRA for more than two years in relation to a dispute over the interpretation of the operation of the Code of Conduct. The matter was resolved within one week of instructing us.

A London based sole-practitioner was the defendant in proceedings brought against her by the SDT and the SRA who had intervened in her practice. We successfully assisted her in defending the proceedings and were able to defeat allegations made against her. She continues to practice as a Partner in her practice.

A small firm in London received a thirteen page report following a visit from the Practice Standards Unit of the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The SRA gave the firm only 28 days to confirm that twenty eight separate items of corrective action, including serious breaches of the Code of Conduct and accounting irregularities had been appropriately addressed. We assisted the firm to resolve each issue step by step to the SRA’s complete satisfaction.