Referral arrangements set to continue

SRA Update Issue 4 – January 2008

In December 2007, the SRA Board reviewed its policy on referral arrangements. The review followed 12 months of monitoring and enforcement activity backed up by an information campaign.

The statistics on non-compliance collected during the year were disappointing, although the board accepted this might in part be due to the small, targeted sample.

There was a consensus that the focus should remain on education of the profession and the consumer and on monitoring of the rules. Some new approaches would be developed in 2008. The board agreed that

• a return to a complete ban was not feasible at the moment;
• further consideration should be given to whether the rules and guidance needed greater clarity;
• consideration should be given to establishing a mechanism whereby solicitors might be approved or accredited for the purposes of entering into referral arrangements;
• consideration should be given to requiring solicitors to make annual reports on referral arrangements
• consideration should be given to producing model agreements;
• targeting and monitoring should be increased with one aim of achieving a critical mass of data;
• an information campaign should be devised, aimed at educating the public on referral arrangements;
• the question of seeking criminal sanctions should not be pursued;
• depending upon the circumstances, solicitors might be precluded from recovering costs or expected to repay deductions as part of the determination of complaints or investigations.

The board will consider proposals on these measures, and will review the position again in 12 months' time.

Download Referral arrangements – final report (December 2007).