SRA NOTIFICATION
Disclaimer – This note is a requirement of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to ensure that clients are aware of their options and provide assurances. This note does not form part of the agreement and standard terms of MMIHL.
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is the regulatory body for firms providing legal services by solicitors. “SRA regulated firm” means the following:
- SRA set a minimum level of professional indemnity insurance (usually no lower than £2m or 3m).
- The SRA will review complaints about a regulated law firm where the client is unhappy or the conduct of solicitors at the SRA regulated law firm.
- The SRA Compensation Fund is available to clients which provides compensation for lost monies, or where the professional indemnity insurance is not in place.
See here for more details on the Fund: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/compensation-fund/compensation-fund/
This is subject to eligibility requirements and is a discretionary fund: see here for more information https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/compensation-fund/claims-process/ - The Legal Ombudsman will consider any complaints by customers of both a regulated law firm and any solicitors who conducted the matter for the client.
“MM In-house lawyer” is the trading name of Musmus Limited, a company limited by shares, registered in England and Wales, No. 06491269, (MMIHL). The principal solicitor providing the services is Mustafa Kachwalla, authorised by the Law Society to be a solicitor and holds a current practising certificate. At the date of this note, there are no other persons who provide legal services at MMIHL. Mustafa Kachwalla is also registered with the SRA as a freelance solicitor but does not provide legal services in his own name but via MMIHL. MMIHL only provides non-reserved legal services, namely general commercial and contract advice. Information about freelance solicitors is here: https://mmihl.co.uk/freelance-solicitors/
MMIHL is non-SRA regulated firm providing legal services. As non-regulated firm providing legal services, certain protections offered by SRA for regulated law firms are either not available or limited to clients of MMIHL. These are:
- A client will not have access to the SRA Compensation Fund. A client will have to rely on the professional indemnity insurance of MMIHL.
- The level of professional indemnity cover for non-regulated firms is not specified by SRA.
- SRA will not consider complaints about the legal services of MMIHL (but will of Mustafa Kachwalla – see below).
Further assurances
Clients of MMIHL do have the following further assurances:
- MMIHL carries adequate professional indemnity insurance to cover the services provided by MMIHL. Currently this is set at £1,000,000 and is reviewed every September; this is also MMIHL’s limit of liability per cause of claim.
- MMIHL does not operate a client account and therefore there is a significantly reduced risk of MMIHL being in a position of having to account for monies of the client and therefore the Fund may not apply in any event.
- The SRA will consider complaints about the professional conduct of Mustafa Kachwalla.
- The Legal Ombudsman will also consider complaints on Mustafa Kachwalla.
Version 1.3 June 2024