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British conveyancing firms opt to switch regulator

Some British firms are opting out of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) and signing up to a rival regulator.

The British Council for Licensed Conveyancers (CLC) has clarified that firms Clutton Cox in Bristol and Fidler & Pepper Lawyers in Nottingham, which all specialise in conveyancing, have left the SRA entirely and moved under their aegis.

Three other firms EHL Group in Leicester, Poole Townsend Estates in Cumbria, and online firm, Your Conveyancer, all formerly under the regulation of the SRA, have transferred their conveyancing practices to the CLC licensing system.

Choice

The upheaval follows a change that enables firms to have a choice in their regulatory body, without taking out extra insurance cover, providing the new regulator has similar client protections in place.

The CLC has commented that the goal of the Legal Services Act 2007 was to promote competition, but that their body places a similar onus for openness on pricing to that of the established SRA.