Category Archives: Opinion

Some reflections on the collapse of PM Law

Posted on by

The PM Law group of firms collapsed in February 2026.  In total, almost £40 million of client money had been removed or was missing; tens of thousands of clients were left stranded in the middle of house moves, claims for personal injuries, dealing with the estates of loved ones, and so on; and about 600 staff lost their jobs (quite literally overnight).  This was a tragedy with huge human and financial costs that we must not lose sight of.

It’s perhaps important to say that this collapse was not caused by the regulator; and also that the great majority of solicitors are competent and ethical, working hard to comply with their regulatory obligations.  Equally, no regulator or system of regulation can achieve a zero-risk outcome where nothing bad ever happens; and whatever has gone wrong here was not because of a lack among the regulator’s staff of individual diligence or willingness to act.  But …

Continue reading →

“Are you proud to be a lawyer?”

Posted on by

Once, this was not a difficult question to answer.  When I became a barrister in 1977, my answer would have been immediate and unequivocal.  Like many of my generation, I was the first in the family to go to university; and then to gain a legal qualification was a matter of great pride.

But, almost 50 years on, things are different.  Lawyers are no longer held in such high esteem (either collectively or, often, individually); media stories abound of lawyers who are said to have ‘crossed an ethical line’; and the public brush of concern tars everyone.  I find the question more difficult (and, to some degree, uncomfortable) these days.

So is current sentiment just an enhanced reflection of longstanding animosity towards the profession collectively?  Is this tide irreversible?  I’d like to think so, but it may not be easy. Continue reading →

Ongoing competence: the LSB’s mission impossible?

Posted on by

Since January 2020, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has been on a mission: to require front-line regulators to assure themselves of the competence of their regulated practitioners throughout their careers.  It issued a call for evidence, commissioned reports, and consulted* on its proposals.  The process has now resulted in a new statutory statement of policy intended to ensure that regulators “have appropriate frameworks for continuing assurance of professional competence throughout the careers of the people they regulate”.  Consequently, “consumers should be able to trust that legal professionals have the necessary skills, knowledge and attributes to provide good quality legal services and that they are kept up to date and relevant over time”.

It is impossible to argue against the good intentions here.  But, regrettably, the mission is impossible; both the consequential cost and burden of it to the regulated community (and ultimately to consumers) are disproportionate; the evidence does not support it; and, for me, it is therefore an unwelcome example of inappropriate regulation.

Continue reading →