The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has named Capsticks as its sole provider for disciplinary and litigation work, opting to abandon a law firm panel approach.
Capsticks’ working relationship with the SRA dates back to 2009, and the firm was appointed to the SRA’s litigation panel after a successful retender in 2013. Disputes partner Daniel Purcell will lead for the firm on the new sole mandate.
SRA chief executive Paul Philip said: ‘Moving to a sole provider model will help to ensure consistency across all our legal work. I was pleased that we had such a strong field, with more than a dozen firms competing in what was a comprehensive and robust procurement process. We are looking forward to working with Capsticks.’
Purcell added: ‘This is an endorsement of the work we have carried out for the SRA over several years and, looking forward, of our innovative proposals to support the SRA’s change programme. We have developed a long-term partnership with the SRA over recent years, and we look forward to working even more closely and effectively with them in the future.’
The six firms that made up the previous litigation and investigations panels were Kingsley Napley, Simmons & Simmons, Capsticks, Devonshires, Russell-Cooke and Bevan Brittan.
In December, Bevan Brittan announced it would not retender for the panel, after reviewing the level of investment needed to service the regulatory body. The firm’s decision was also influenced by the departure of Iain Miller to Kingsley Napley. Miller was the key SRA relationship partner for Bevan Brittan.
Earlier this year, the Legal Services Board (LSB) commenced a probe into the SRA’s independence from the Law Society. The SRA has independence in terms of its governance operations, but is currently structurally linked to the Law Society through some of its governance arrangements and shared resources such as finance and HR systems.
tom.baker@legalease.co.uk
