About intervention

What is an intervention?

An intervention closes a firm with immediate effect.

The main things that we do during an intervention:

• Stop the firm from operating; take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm (including clients' papers), and
• Take possession of all money held by the firm (including clients' money).

What happens during an intervention?

When we intervene into a firm, we appoint intervention agents and give them the authority to freeze the firm's accounts and seize papers so that they can be held securely.

The intervention agents will then identify any clients with urgent cases that need to be addressed immediately, and will contact them so that they can make other arrangements. Less urgent cases will not be contacted automatically.

We will then keep the documents and money taken from the firm safe until we are able to return them to their owners. However we may not be able to return this straightaway if

• the accounts have not been kept properly
• money has gone missing, or
• we haven't been able to contact the clients.

If you are a client of a firm that we have closed, please read our pages on

• what you need to do next, and
• claiming back money and papers—other legal professionals and experts who are owed fees can also use that page to claim back the money that they are owed.

We are not responsible towards employees or trade creditors of firms that we have intervened in—please follow the links below for further information.

• Guidance to employees of firms closed by the SRA
• Guidance to trade creditors of firms closed by the SRA

Advertisements announcing the intervention may be be posted locally with the details of the intervention agents.

Intervention agents are solicitors, however they are not able to continue your legal work.

Why do we intervene?

The main reason to intervene into a firm is to protect client money and interests, and in the interest of the general public. This may be necessary if

• we suspect dishonesty
• a recognised sole practitioner has been made bankrupt
• a recognised sole practitioner has been sent to prison
• a recognised sole practitioner has been struck off the Roll for other reasons
• the practice has been abandoned, or
• there have been serious breaches of the Accounts Rules.

Details of the legislation outlining reasons for intervention can be found below.

If we intervene into a firm, we may keep the specific details confidential, but we will give a brief outline of the grounds for intervention and will publish that part of the decision. Intervention agents acting for the firm will not discuss the details with you. You can search our published decisions and read our publication policy for regulatory decisions.

Legislation covering interventions

For more detail about our grounds for intervention, follow these links:

• Solicitors' practices—section 35 and Schedule 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 (as amended)
• Registered European lawyers—section 35 and Schedule 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 as applied by the European Communities (Lawyers Practice) Regulations 2000 (ECR 2000)
• Registered foreign lawyers—Schedule 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 as applied by paragraph 5 of Part II of Schedule 14 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990
• Recognised bodies—Schedule 1 of the Solicitors Act 1974 as applied by paragraphs 32-35 of Schedule 2 of the Administration of Justice Act 1985

In each case, the grounds on which we can intervene are different.

A regulated firm or individual can appeal to the High Court against our decision to close their practice.

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