While there are signs of recovery at larger law firms, fresh evidence of the pressure on smaller practices has emerged this week with the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirming that 141 law firms unable to gain insurance cover are now entering a final period before they face an enforced wind-up.
The 141 firms have moved into the middle of a 60-day ‘cessation period’, which began on 1 November. 277 law firms initially failed to gain insurance cover by 1 October, as required, triggering SRA oversight. 153 firms still had no cover by 30 October, stopping them from taking on new instructions. The 1 October deadline triggers a 90-day extended policy period (EPP), a professional ‘last chance saloon, which this year replaced the old system of the assigned risk pool for struggling law firms that cannot gain professional indemnity cover.
