RF1 notes – Part B
B. Main/head office solicitors
2.1 Solicitors
These instructions apply to solicitors at main head offices and other branch offices.
Solicitors are listed according to their status within the organisation.
- In a partnership, partners are listed first, followed by assistant solicitors, associates and consultants.
- In a limited liability partnership (LLP), members are listed first.
- In a company, directors are listed first.
- We list solicitors who do not hold a current practising certificate after those who do.
If any solicitor has been omitted from the form, enter his/her details in the "New solicitors" section for the office with which the solicitor is most closely associated (either section 4.1 or 5.6 of the form). Please ensure that you provide his/her exact start date (e.g. 10/03/2008).
SRA number
Every solicitor has a unique SRA number, which should be quoted when contacting us. The number appears on a solicitor's certificate of admission or practising certificate as "Law Society reference number".
Status
A person's status in the organisation should be listed here. Include any dates when changes to status took effect in "Additional information". Use a separate sheet if necessary.
Reduced practising certificate fee
If a solicitor qualifies for a reduced practising certificate fee, please note this in "Additional information". If a reduced practising certificate fee applies, list the solicitors and their respective categories in Section I.
Welsh language practising certificate
Please tick if a solicitor wishes to receive their practising certificate in Welsh. Each Welsh practising certificate has an English translation on the reverse side.
Client money and controlled trust money
For practice in England and Wales, "client money" and "controlled trust money" are defined in rule 13 of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998.
For practice outside England and Wales,
- "client money" means money held or received for or on behalf of a client, and
- "controlled trust money" means money which is subject to a controlled trust of which you are a trustee. (See rule 15 and rule 24 of the Solicitors' Code of Conduct.)
All the questions in this section relate to the practising year 1 November 2007 to 31 October 2008. They apply to all offices where a solicitor practises, including offices of your organisation and any other organisation(s) through which the solicitor practises.
Change the answer to any question if it is printed incorrectly on the form and include the date any changes became effective.
Change the relevant fee calculation where changing an answer means the compensation fund contribution payable is different. For example, if the solicitor is shown on the form as a partner but became a consultant before the beginning of the practising year (1 November 2007 to 31 October 2008) and has not held client money directly or indirectly during that practising year, you should change his/her compensation fund contribution on the fee calculation page.
Questions A1 to B2
- Answer all four questions, even though some of them, at first sight, may appear to be covering the same ground.
- Change the answer to any question if it is printed incorrectly on the form.
- If you change the answer to A1 or A2, you may also need to change the fee calculation, because the compensation fund contribution for this solicitor may have changed.
- The answers to questions A1 to B2 should cover all office(s) of your organisation from which the solicitor's relevant
practice is carried on, and any other organisation(s) through which the solicitor practises. Examples include the following:
- a) If the question relates to practise in England and Wales and the solicitor is a partner, the answer should cover all English and Welsh offices of the partnership. If the solicitor is an employee, the answer should relate to the office at which the solicitor is based.
- b) If the question relates to practise anywhere in the world, and the solicitor is a member of an LLP or a director of a company which is a recognised body, the answer should cover all offices of the recognised body.
- c) If the question relates to practise outside England and Wales and the solicitor is a partner in another law firm as well as being a partner in your firm, the answer should cover all offices of both firms which are outside England and Wales.
- The answers to questions A1 and A2 determine whether the solicitor must pay the higher rate of compensation fund contribution. The answers to questions B11 and B2 determine whether the solicitor must deliver an accountant's report.
Question A1
Did the solicitor hold or receive client money in the 12 months to 31 October 2008?
- The answer is "yes" if the solicitor held or received client money in relation to practise from an office either in, or outside of, England and Wales .
- If the money was held or received in relation to practise outside England and Wales, the answer is "yes"—even if the solicitor is exempt from the overseas accounts provisions in respect of that money.
- A solicitor will always have held or received client money (whether or not the solicitor was a signatory to the client account)
if
- a) the solicitor was a partner, or was held out as a partner, in a partnership; and
- b) the partnership held or received client money.
This does not apply if the practice was outside England and Wales and the partnership was an LLP formed under the law of a jurisdiction which gives the LLP a separate legal personality (for example, Jersey, California or Texas).
- If the solicitor was a partner, but became a consultant before the beginning of the practising year (1 November 2007 to 31 October 2008), the answer to question A1 is "no"—unless the solicitor held or received client money in a capacity other than as a partner in your firm.
- If a cheque was made out to a solicitor and was signed over to a client, beneficiary or employer, the solicitor "received" the money, even though it was not banked in the solicitor's name.
Question A2
Did the solicitor hold or receive client money through a recognised body in the 12 months to 31 October 2008?
- The answer is "yes" if the solicitor was a director, member or shareowner of
- a) a recognised body which held or received client money in respect of practise anywhere in the world, or
- b) a body corporate which directly or indirectly owned the whole or any part of a recognised body, which held or received client money in respect of practise anywhere in the world.
- The recognised body could be either an LLP incorporated in the United Kingdom, a company incorporated in England and Wales or a company incorporated in another European jurisdiction.
- The answer is "yes" even if the recognised body is exempt from the overseas accounts provisions in respect of that money.
Question B1
Is the solicitor required to deliver one or more accountant's reports in respect of practice in England and Wales in the 12 months to 31 October 2008?
- The answer is "yes"—if, in respect of practise in England and Wales in the 12 months to 31 October 2008, the solicitor
- a) held or received client money,
- b) held or received controlled trust money,
- c) operated a client's own account as signatory,
- d) was a director of a company (a recognised body) which held or received client money or controlled trust money, or
- e) was a member of an LLP (a recognised body) which held or received client money or controlled trust money.
- A solicitor will always have held or received client money in respect of practise in England and Wales (whether or not the solicitor was a signatory to the client account) if
- A solicitor may hold or receive controlled trust money in his or her capacity as a partner—for example, when a will or trust appoints "the partners" in a firm as the only executors or trustees.
- A solicitor may hold or receive client money or controlled trust money in a capacity other than as a partner—for example, when a will or trust appoints the solicitor by name as an executor or trustee.
- A solicitor who ceases to be a partner and becomes a consultant often remains a trustee of one or more controlled trusts and, thus, continues to hold controlled trust money.
- A client's own account means an account in the name of a client (not a solicitor's separate designated client account). A solicitor may be a signatory of a client's own account either under a power of attorney or, for example, as signatory for a company or charity.
- If the solicitor is required to deliver one or more accountant's reports in respect of practise in England and Wales, but not in respect of the practice of your firm, please answer "yes", but add a note "not through this firm". This is to make sure that the solicitor is not asked to send an accountant's report in respect of your firm. It would be helpful if you also give the name of the other firm.
Question B2
Is the solicitor required to deliver one or more accountant's reports in respect of practice outside England and Wales in the 12 months to 31 October 2008?
-
The general rule is that a solicitor is required to deliver one or more accountant's
reports in respect of practise outside England and Wales if, in the 12 months to 31 October 2008,
the solicitor held or received client money or controlled trust money either
- a) directly (as an individual or partner), or
- b) indirectly (through a body corporate).
- A solicitor will have held or received money directly if, for example, any of the following circumstances apply:
- a) The solicitor held or received client money or controlled trust money as a sole practitioner.
- b) The solicitor was a partner, or was held out as a partner, in a partnership, and the partnership held or received client money. (This will be the case whether or not the solicitor was a signatory to the client account.)
- c) The solicitor held or received controlled trust money as a partner, where a will or trust appointed "the partners" in the firm as the only executors or trustees.
- d) The solicitor held or received client money or controlled trust money as an individual, where a will or trust appointed the solicitor by name as an executor or trustee.
- e) The solicitor received a cheque made out to the solicitor, which was signed over to a client, beneficiary or employer without being banked in the solicitor's name. (In this case the solicitor has received the money but has not held it.)
As an exception to the general rule in relation to partnerships, a solicitor does not have to deliver an accountant's report in respect of money held or received as a partner if
- a) a majority of the partners were lawyers of jurisdictions other than England and Wales, and
- b) UK lawyers did not form the largest national group of lawyers in the partnership.
The solicitor is required to deliver an accountant's report in respect of client money or controlled trust money which the solicitor held or received in some other capacity—as a named trustee, for example.
- A solicitor will have held or received money indirectly if any of the following circumstances apply:
- a) The solicitor was a member of an LLP, or a director of a company, which was a recognised body incorporated in England and Wales and which held or received client money.
- b) The solicitor was a member of an LLP, or a director of a company, which
was a recognised body incorporated outside England and Wales and which held or received client money; provided that
- (i) solicitors owned a controlling majority of the shares, if the recognised body was a company with shares;
- (ii) solicitors constituted a controlling majority of the members, if the recognised body was an LLP or a company without shares.
- c) In relation to a body corporate, which was not a recognised body and which held or received client money,
the solicitor was
- (i) a director or shareowner, if the body corporate was a company with shares and solicitors owned a controlling majority of the shares;
- (ii) a director or member, if the body corporate was a company without shares and solicitors constituted a controlling majority of the members; or
- (iii) a member if the body corporate was not a company and solicitors constituted a controlling majority of the members.
- d) The solicitor was a partner in a non-UK LLP which held or received client money, provided that
- e) The solicitor was a director or shareowner of a company with shares,
which was not a recognised body and in which solicitors
owned a controlling majority of the shares, and
- (i) the solicitor held or received controlled trust money as trustee; and
- (ii) the only other trustee(s) were director(s), shareowner(s) and/or employee(s) of the company.
- f) The solicitor was a director or member of a company without shares,
which was not a recognised body and in which
solicitors constituted a controlling majority of the members, and
- (i) the solicitor held or received controlled trust money as trustee; and
- (ii) the only other trustee(s) were director(s), member(s) and/or employee(s) of the company.
- g) The solicitor was a member of a body corporate which was not a company or a recognised body,
in which solicitors constituted a controlling majority of the members, and
- (i) the solicitor held or received controlled trust money as trustee; and
- (ii) the only other trustee(s) were member(s) and/or employee(s) of the body corporate.
- h) The solicitor was a partner in a non-UK LLP, which was not a body corporate, but had
separate legal identity (e.g. it was a Jersey, California or Texas LLP) in which solicitors constituted a controlling
majority of the partners", and
- (i) the solicitor held or received controlled trust money as trustee; and
- (ii) the only other trustee(s) were employee(s) of the LLP.
In respect of practise in Scotland or Northern Ireland,"solicitors owned a controlling majority" should be read as "solicitors and/or registered European lawyers (RELs) owned a controlling majority"; and "solicitors constituted a controlling majority" should be read as "solicitors and/or RELs constituted a controlling majority".
Work categories
Our directory holds information on the types of work undertaken by solicitors. Our online directory is Find a solicitor. The form is pre-printed with details from our current records. Please check the details and amend them if necessary, referring to our list of work categories. Please note that our records hold a maximum of six categories.
Languages
Our directory holds information on languages (other than English) spoken by solicitors. Our online directory is Find a solicitor. The form is pre-printed with details from our current records. Please check the details and amend them if necessary, referring to our list of languages. Please note that our records hold a maximum of six languages.
Other legal qualifications and registrations
If the solicitor is also a member of a legal profession of another jurisdiction, or a barrister of England and Wales, you should note the jurisdiction, the professional title and the date of admission to that profession.
If the solicitor is registered in another European state under the Establishment Directive, you should give the jurisdiction and the date of initial registration.
2.2 Non-registered European lawyers
In certain circumstances, a lawyer of a profession covered by the Establishment Directive is exempt from registration with the SRA, even though participating in a firm with an office in England and Wales. Such a lawyer is defined as a non-registered European lawyer.
The lawyer must be based outside England and Wales, and must not be
- a solicitor;
- a barrister of England and Wales, Northern Ireland or the Irish Republic ; or
- a Scottish advocate.
The rules allow a partnership consisting of
- registered European lawyers (RELs) and non-registered European lawyers, with or without solicitors and/or registered foreign lawyers (RFLs); or
- RELs, non-registered European lawyers and recognised bodies, with or without solicitors.
Therefore, if your firm is a partnership which practises in England and Wales, and includes one or more REL partners, the firm may be able to include one or more partners who are non-registered European lawyers. There must always be a REL partner in a partnership which includes a non-registered European lawyer.
Rule 15 of the Solicitors Code of Conduct allows a non-registered European lawyer to be a member of an LLP which is a recognised body, or to be a director, member or shareowner of a company which is a recognised body. Unlike a partnership, a recognised body which includes a non-registered European lawyer does not have to include a REL.
Please note:
- If your firm is a partnership which practises in England and Wales and has non-registered European lawyer partners, you are required to list all such partners. You must give their professional title as an EU lawyer ("Advocat", "Rechtsanwalt" etc), their country of qualification and the country in which they are based.
- If your firm has partners who are not members of professions covered by the Establishment Directive, you must ensure they are registered as RFLs.