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
SRA Launches Mandatory Compliance Declarations for 700+ High-Volume Claims Firms
The SRA has introduced mandatory compliance declarations for over 700 law firms handling high-volume consumer claims. This follows a thematic review of 129 firms managing more than 2.4 million claims, which found widespread failures: only 11 of 25 visited firms could demonstrate sharing required client care information, only 12 had shared costs information, and there were systemic failures in client identification and sanctions screening. At least 95 investigations into 76 firms are now open. Sources SRA acts on concerns about law firm practices on high-volume claims Law Gazette: High-volume claims outfits must declare they understand the rules
