Referral arrangements set to stay
11 January 2008
New measures will be introduced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to improve compliance with the rules on referral arrangements, under which solicitors can pay people who introduce them to clients.
The SRA decided that a complete ban on referral payments was not feasible. A 12-month monitoring and enforcement programme by the SRA had revealed widespread infringements of the rules, but reintroducing a ban was not the right answer, according to the SRA Board.
Peter Williamson, SRA chair, said: "The focus should be on education, enforcement and monitoring. We need to make sure that the rules are clear and well understood, but we will also be looking at whether there should be a new regime so that the SRA can control which solicitors can operate referrals arrangements."
"Another option we will investigate is an annual reporting requirement by solicitors so that we can monitor activity. We are also considering 'model agreements' to help solicitors ensure that their arrangements comply with our rules, and an information campaign to help the public understand referral arrangements and make choices."
"The Board concluded that reintroducing a ban would not be justified, although that will be kept under review. We need a regime that is clear and easy to enforce but with tough penalties for those who break the rules," said Mr Williamson.