For those of you who can remember my last report for the 2019 autumn edition I now update you on the fact that we had a successful Special General Meeting to pass a resolution that the Annual General Meeting can take place abroad as long as it enables any members in the United Kingdom to communicate with the AGM through Skype. The constitution has been amended accordingly. This will be put into effect at the Malaga conference in June 2020.
At that Special General Meeting which took place in The Law Society reading room there was a very successful presentation by Locktons who covered the professional indemnity renewal situation. The trends are that
- The rates for claims free sole practitioners are significantly less than those for 2 to 5 partner firms.
- The rates of run-off as a percentage of the last premium are starting to reduce.
- The insurance of freelancers is somewhat problematic.
A significant part of the discussion was taken up with the problem of the closure by the SRA of the Solicitors Indemnity fund cover for liability after the termination of the six years run-off cover. This is giving considerable concern to retired and retiring practitioners who will have to face that loss of cover in October 2020.
I can say that at that meeting there was a significant discussion between myself and Nick Gurney-Champion, the Chairman of the Law Society Professional Indemnity Committee, who is also extremely concerned. As a council member all I can say at the moment is that there are serious discussions taking place in the early part of 2020 to try to resolve the matter in a satisfactory way and I am told that there will be a press release by The Law Society on this subject early in the New Year.
From the point of view of dealing with freelancers, the executive committee current position is to wait and see how this line of practice develops, but the committee’s bottom line will be not to allow the inclusion to the SPG of anyone who is practising without appropriate insurance cover.
On the question of the changes of governance in The Law Society the wide-ranging report and proposals by the Council membership committee are now reaching a conclusion. The SPG have achieved a position where there should be two continuing Council Members nominated through the SPG executive. I think it is accepted by the chairman of the Council Membership Committee that the prospect of the SPG “returning to the fold” of The Law Society is impracticable at this stage although I have to say that our relationship with The Law Society generally continues to improve from its low point when we left the formal umbrella of the Society due to Societies ultimatum of join or leave.
I suspect that option is now seen to be a mistake and that the way forward is for all members of The Law Society, whether involved in other groups or not, to work together in their own collective interests and in the interests of their clients.
Finally can I note the fact that the proposed changes to the professional indemnity rules which have been canvassed by the SRA over the last few years have, I understand, been abandoned. These tools originally came up in 2014 at which stage we argued against significant changes and finally, probably due to a change of personnel at the SRA, this seems to have been now abandoned.
There is new leadership at the SRA which seems to be receptive to being less rigid in the SRA approach to members. The SPG has seen several instances with if unnecessarily harsh correspondence and communication and will be raising that with the SRA as and when it arises.
Finally can I endorse what I am sure is in Penny’s Chairman’s report, to encourage you to come to Malaga on the 5, 6 and 7 of June.
Clive Sutton
Honorary Secretary