Pure Legal Collapses — 5,800 Cavity Wall Claims Transferred, Creditors Get Nothing
Pure Legal (Liverpool) collapsed with 5,800 cavity wall insulation claims which were transferred to SSB Group. Creditors were owed £40 million and expected to receive nothing. The collapse was part of a cascading chain: Tegamus Law (2019) → Pure Legal (2021) → SSB Group (2024) → JMR Solicitors (2024), each inheriting and then failing with the same toxic portfolio of claims. Sources Law Gazette: Pure Legal collapse bill tops £7m Legal Futures: SSB Law victims pile pressure on SRA
SSB Law Collapses with £200m+ in Debts — Thousands of Clients Pursued for Costs
SSB Law (Sheffield), a specialist in high-volume cavity wall insulation claims, entered administration with debts exceeding £200 million. Thousands of former clients were pursued for substantial adverse legal costs despite “no win, no fee” assurances. The SRA placed interim restrictions on four solicitors and issued disqualification orders against two non-solicitor directors — the most serious non-solicitor sanction available. Sources SRA: Cavity wall insulation claims handled by SSB Group Law Gazette: SRA ready to move on SSB prosecutions
Liverpool Housing Disrepair Firms Shut Down by SRA in Rapid Succession
A pattern of connected collapses hit Liverpool’s housing disrepair claims sector. McDermott Smith Solicitors collapsed in July 2024, followed by SRA interventions closing BPS Solicitors and Langton Law in September 2024. The latter two firms were connected through their directors, raising questions about regulatory vetting of mass claims firm ownership structures. Sources Legal Futures: SRA closes down four law firms in two days
