From the volume of complaints the Law Society continues to receive from lending institutions, it is clear that there are still numerous overdue solicitor’s undertakings.  Many of these undertakings go back some considerable time, and many can be easily complied with.  Some solicitors have files in their offices that have not been completed because stamp duty has not been paid, applications have not been made to the Property Registration Authority or ancilliary issues such as certificates of compliance with planning permissions have not been addressed.  Unfortunately too many solicitors are  only attending to these issues after a complaint has been made.

The experience of the Law Society’s investigating accountants is that many solicitors have outstanding balances on the client ledger, representing stamp duty and registration fees.  It is the view of the Law Society that if solicitors were to review their client ledgers on a regular basis and take action to clear  these balances, it would lead to fewer complaints about overdue undertakings.

A breach of an undertaking is a matter of professional misconduct, and failing to comply with an undertaking can result in a referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.  The Tribunal can make a recommendation to the High Court to strike a solicitor off the Roll of Solicitors, and a number of solicitors have been struck off the Roll for breach of undertaking.  In all cases, a complaint to the Law Society will impact negatively on the solicitor’s practice, at the very least in terms of management time and the risk of an increase in the cost of professional indemnity insurance.

The Law Society therefore urges all solicitors to check whether they have any overdue undertakings to lending institutions and, if there are any, to comply with those undertakings as a matter of urgency.  All firms should keep a register of undertakings for ease of identifying and complying with overdue undertakings.  In the case of firms that do not have a register at the present time, the Law Society  recommends that a register is drawn up.

Please ensure that when a letter of enquiry is received from a lending institution a response is given within a reasonable time to reduce the chances of a complaint to the Law Society.

John Elliot, Registrar of Solicitors and Director of Regulation