In one of the latest decisions, an experienced solicitor made repeated and similar mistakes that seem so glaringly bad that it should have been quickly picked up by someone in the firm (if not by the solicitor concerned).

Solicitor competence is, as we know, never far from the regulator’s headlines and the SRA issues regular prompts, in one form or other, reminding solicitors to keep their knowledge and skills up to date. Firms as whole must also comply with requirements to ensure the solicitors they employ are maintaining their competence.

A recent SDT judgment illustrates just how important it is for solicitors (in this case, conveyancing lawyers) to maintain their competence or risk making serious and costly errors - however knowledgeable they believe they are.

Conveyancing solicitor Mark Westwood was admitted in 1985. At the relevant time (2016 to 2020), he was a consultant at what was then the Cavendish Legal Group. He had acted in five transactions across the four-year period where there was a clear conflict of interests or a significant risk of a conflict, having acted for the lenders without telling them he was also acting for himself and/or members of his close family.

Law firms are prohibited from acting for lenders in transactions where the partner/fee-earner or a member of their immediate family, is the borrower without the lender’s explicit permission that a separate senior fee-earner may act (the Lenders’ Handbook).

The SDT concluded Westwood had “erred significantly in acting in conveyancing transactions where there were conflicts of interest”. He had, however, shown genuine remorse and insight and he was not found to have been dishonest. Further, they were genuine transactions, no members of the public were involved and no loss or advantage was caused to any party.

The SDT noted that Westwood had taken significant steps to address his mistakes and had taken courses to improve his knowledge and competence. He was fined £12,500 by the SDT and ordered to pay costs of £19,670.

Annual assessments

Note the outcome of the SRA’s second annual assessment into solicitor competency, in which it analysed 10,090 reports received across 2022 and 11,174 in 2023. Its first annual assessment identified a higher proportion of reports related to conveyancing (as well as probate services and immigration) and took appropriate action - which appears to have proved successful.

The second assessment found that out of the reduction in the numbers of reports, conveyancing was among three practice areas seeing the highest drop. A greater commitment on the part of firms and conveyancing solicitors to their responsibilities for maintaining continuing competence will be contributing to this reduction in the number of conveyancing-related reports to the SRA.