The Compensation Fund may help persons who have suffered loss as a result of a solicitor's dishonesty or who are suffering hardship as a result of a solicitor's failure to account for money he or she has received. The loss must have arisen during a solicitor's normal work. If this is the case an application may be made to the Compensation Fund.
If you want to complain about a solicitor
Please note that we do not deal with complaints about solicitors. To complain about a solicitor, contact the Legal Complaints Service.
How we will deal with an application
The application will be investigated by a caseworker. It is the applicant's responsibility to prove the application but the caseworker will give help and guidance wherever possible. After the investigation the application will be referred to an adjudicator or adjudication panel who will decide upon the application. We will try and deal with the application as quickly as possible but sometimes the issues can be complex and take time to consider.
Please refer to the general information sheet (PDF 26KB) for more details.
The Compensation Fund requires certain information and documentation in addition to the application. The following documents tell you what needs to be sent to us. Please choose the document relevant to your application:
- Stamp duty land tax, land registry fees (PDF 19KB)
- Applications relating to mortgages (PDF 20KB)
- Failure to pay off a mortgage (PDF 23KB)
- Estate or trust funds (PDF 20KB)
- Unpaid counsel, expert or agent fees (PDF 21KB)
- General client money or other losses (PDF 19KB)
Costs
If you are a solicitor who has been instructed by an applicant to make a claim and a payment is made, we may also pay your proper and reasonable costs for work done in making the application to the Fund. If your client's claim is rejected we will not pay any costs.
In most cases, loss caused by solicitors not finishing work they have been paid for will not be a 'failure to account', and therefore we will not make a payment.
Before making an application please contact us. You can do this by email, in writing or by phone:
The SRA Compensation Fund,
8 Dormer Place,
Leamington Spa,
Warwickshire,
CV32 5A.
Telephone: 01926 487015
Fax: 01926 487062
DX 292320 Leamington Spa 4
You can download an application form (PDF 158KB) to complete by hand and post to us.
Alternatively, download an application form (DOT 201K) that can be completed in Microsoft Word. Please ensure that you save the file locally—before and after you complete it. When you have completed the form, please print it, sign it, attach any supporting documentation and return it to us.
The Solicitors Act 1974 requires us to run the Compensation Fund. The Compensation Fund Rules are made by the Council of the Law Society.
