The firm have a policy of paying an amount in lieu of interest (“interest”) to clients where the firm holds money in a general client account on their behalf in the course of providing legal services.
The calculation of interest due to a client on a matter accrues three days after client funds have been received into the general client bank account of the firm and is calculated on a daily compounded basis.
In the event that the calculated total interest accruing to a client for the duration of a matter is less than £20 then no interest will be paid to the client on the basis that it is a de-minimis amount. The firm takes the view that any amount below £20 is reasonably retained by the firm to cover the administrative cost dealing with client funds.
The firm has an active policy of considering the potential exposure of client funds to commercial risks and regularly reviews the choice of banking institution where the firm holds client funds.
The firm is not in this capacity acting as financial advisers and whilst the firm will take reasonable steps to protect client funds such actions will only ever be based on information available in the public domain.
Interest will be calculated and paid in accordance with this policy. The amount of interest paid to each recipient will take into account:
We do not pay interest:
We will notify clients of our interest policy in our terms of business.
Failure to explain our policy on payment of interest could give the recipient unrealistic expectations about the amount of interest they will receive. Ultimately, this could lead to complaints to the firm and/or Legal Ombudsman.
We are required to notify the SRA if we breach the SRA Accounts Rules 2019, including the rules relating to payment of interest. If you suspect that we have breached this policy, please report your concerns to our compliance officer for finance and administration (COFA) or compliance officer for legal practice (COLP).
The COFA is responsible for this policy.
All employees involved in client money must be aware of and adhere to it. You may be liable to disciplinary action if you fail to comply with the provisions of this policy.
The COFA will monitor compliance with this policy by a regular review of interest calculations
We will review this policy regularly–at least annually. We will provide information and/or training on any changes we make.