We aim to help solicitors in all sectors to be competitive, to maximise the opportunities available to them and to be successful despite the most challenging economic conditions. Our law management and publishing products are a valuable resource for the profession; during the last year our helplines (see pages 7-8) answered more calls than ever.

Negotiating with the banks and HMRC

The Law Society negotiated arrangements with HM Revenue and Customs for practices to defer tax payments and for current losses to be offset against profits made in the previous tax year. Negotiations continue on the suspension of taxation on payments due to solicitors but not yet received.

We have established an ongoing dialogue with four of the major banks and the British Bankers Association to discuss issues currently affecting legal firms. They were receptive to our argument that solicitors’ firms represent a lower lending risk than other areas of the economy.

Smoothing the PII renewal process

The worsening economic climate has put considerable pressure on the insurance market. The Society has worked with the SRA, insurers and brokers to see how it can help solicitors to obtain professional indemnity insurance (PII) this year and beyond. We: 

  • published a practice note on managing PII renewals; 
  • organised free seminars throughout England and Wales; 
  • plan to issue further guidance on dealing with brokers;
  • are discussing with the SRA changes to the rules governing insurance, particularly the single renewal date; and 
  • are discussing a possible Code of Practice with the Association of British Insurers and the British Insurance Brokers’ Association. 

Guidance on the banking crisis and client accounts

The banking crisis raised significant concerns about the safety of client accounts and solicitors’ duties. We:
  • issued a practice note to support the profession; 
  • discussed the issue with the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and amended our guidance in the light of that; and 
  • lobbied the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to improve protection for client accounts. Their recent consultation on temporary high balances proposes significant improvements to address our concerns. 

Supporting conveyancing solicitors

The housing market has been problematic for solicitors. We have:

  • continued to lobby over the problems with home information packs; 
  • lobbied the Land Registry with our concerns about their identity requirements and proposals for partial representation; 
  • lobbied the FSA about incomplete redemption statements; 
  • developed new policy and services for the profession in respect of conveyancing for consultation; 
  • persuaded Abbey to reinstate most of the firms it had removed from its conveyancing panel and continue discussions about the remaining firms.

Events and guidance

The Law Society organised downturn-related training events, workshops and seminars on subjects including: 

  • Facing the credit crunch (online event) 
  • Getting the best from your bank 
  • Building and managing a modern law firm 
  • Trading through the downturn 
  • Successfully managing a small firm 
  • Preparing for PII renewal 
  • Stress management and redundancy
  • Retraining: introduction to wills, probate and trusts 
  • Is the downturn affecting you? (Junior Lawyers) 
  • Financial and stress management (Junior Lawyers) 
  • Retraining and re-employment (Junior Lawyers).

New practice notes covered:

  • Tax payment difficulties  
  • Banking crisis and client accounts 
  • Personal indemnity insurance 
  • Mortgage fraud 
  • Redundancy 
  • Job seeking