The LSB, which is the independent oversight regulator for legal services in England and Wales, said “urgent improvements” were needed.
Following the antics of Axiom Ince and the loss of £60m of client money, in 2025 the LSB ordered the SRA to strengthen its approach to identifying risky firms.
When SSB Law imploded the LSB has another go, imposing performance targets and censuring the regulator over its myopia around accumulator firms.
The collapse of PM Law Group in February 2026 showed the SRA was resolved to carry on as normal (this July it belatedly banned the manager), reigniting concerns that it was crocked.
A ‘Serious Event Review’ conducted by Jenner & Block into the SRA’s regulation of PM Law has concluded that the weaknesses which bedevilled its handling of Axiom Ince remained, with shortcomings including the (in)effective use of intelligence held across the SRA, the (non)investigation of complex financial risks, and the (de)escalation of serious concerns to senior decision makers.
“Importantly, some of these issues have been known to the SRA since 2023”, said the LSB, which found that although the regulator “has made progress in strengthening its processes, controls and frameworks”, there “is not yet sufficient evidence that these reforms have resulted in better regulatory outcomes or improved protection for consumers”.
“The scale of the harm shows why this matters”, it said, noting that “The cumulative loss of client money associated with Axiom Ince and PM Law is approximately £100 million”.
The SRA saw an exodus of its leadership team as the disasters continued to unfold under their watch, but the LSB said it was still “disappointed by the standard of leadership” and by the “accountability demonstrated by the SRA Board”.
The measures it’s imposing in response to the “serious regulatory failures that have repeatedly occurred, at significant cost to consumers and to public confidence in the SRA”, include requiring the SRA to draw up an improvement plan, “more frequent independent assurance” that reforms are being implemented and working, and “additional performance targets”.
Although it appears these demands are nothing an SRA employee with access to AI couldn’t satisfy in about five seconds, ROF is confident they will do the trick and the SRA won’t miss any more giant red flags.
Anna Bradley, Chair of the SRA Board, said, “The PM Law report makes for difficult reading.?We?are?particularly sorry for the impact this?has had on former clients of the firm and accept?we?should have done better by them”.
Sarah Rapson, Chief Executive of the SRA,?said, “Too often, action has been taken only after consumers have experienced harm”.
“Work to shift the SRA to a more proactive footing was underway when I arrived, but it became clear quickly that we needed to go further and faster”, she added, warning that the shift “will take time but it is the priority”.
