SRA sounds warning notice to high volume claim firms

UK legal industry regulator the Solicitors Regulation Authority said it was “concerned” by the behaviour of some law firms in how they deal with some ‘no win no fee’ cases.

It comes after the SRA published a thematic review in August 2025, which looked at the performance of legal firms when carrying out high volume consumer claims, which raised concerns about some organisations failing to adhere to regulations.

And the legal body said it was concerned about misleading use of ‘no win no fee’ in promoting services which were not appropriate or where there may be charges that arise.

Caroline Henzell, a litigation expert with Pinsent Masons, said the intervention by the regulatory body was helpful.

“This is a welcome step by the SRA to tackle concerns, which we share, over the practices of some of the firms which would fall within the warning notice's scope,” she said. “It will come as a relief to the industry and those who use its services that the SRA is monitoring this.”

The SRA highlighted a lack of transparency around no win no fee cases -  which can still carry various costs for clients depending on the outcome -  and the use of third parties to generate leads and claims.

It said it was also concerned about client interests not being served properly in the way such agreements were structured, with poor management of safeguards around these claims.

Sarah Rapson, chief executive of the SRA, said raising and enforcing the issue was now a priority for the body, after being raised by stakeholders.

“The expectations set out in this warning notice should therefore not be a surprise,” she said.

'Some firms are not fulfilling their obligations to always act in their clients' best interests and follow our rules and standards. We are using all the tools at our disposal to take action against these, highlighting known issues and promoting compliance in order to protect the public and help the sector to comply with the rules.”