West law firm Follett Stock, which until recently had an office in Bristol, has been closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) following the appointment of liquidators earlier this week.
The SRA said it made the move “in order to protect the interests of clients (or former or potential clients)”. Follett Stock’s 30 staff have been made redundant and the SRA will now take possession of all documents and money held by the firm, which also has offices in Truro, Exeter and London and marketed itself as 'the big red law firm'.
The liquidation and SRA intervention follow a winding-up petition served on Follett Stock in August by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).
Its partners had hoped to sell the business as a going concern. In a statement the firm said it had made “huge efforts” to find a buyer. “These efforts came close to succeeding, but ultimately failed,” it said.
David Standish and John Milsom of KPMG, who were appointed compulsory liquidators on Monday, are now determining the value of the firm’s assets and will seek to sell them and return any money raised to its creditors.
The SRA said last month that more than 150 firms were teetering on the brink of closure having failed to secure professional indemnity insurance (PII) cover because of financial straits. Firms in this position have 60 days to find a new insurer during which they cannot take on new instructions.
SRA director of client protection Helen Herniman said the regulator only intervened once all other options had been exhausted.
“We have had to intervene on this occasion as there was a clear risk to clients’ interests caused by the firm’s financial difficulties,” she said.
“The legal services market is facing a tough economic environment and other firms may find they are in a similar position. We’d urge all those who may be struggling financially to get in touch as soon as possible with either ourselves at the SRA, or other organisations that can offer advice such as their local law society.”
