Q. I am a solicitor in a law centre. Do I have to deliver an accountant's report?

A. That depends. If you receive clients' money in the course of acting for clients of the law centre, that money will have to be held in a client account. Such an account must be in the name of the law centre's current principal solicitor (see rule 14(3)(d) of Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998). This will be you if you are the only solicitor in the law centre and you would have to submit an accountant's report and pay the higher contribution to the compensation fund. If there are other solicitors working in the law centre, the client account could be solely in the name of the principal solicitor or the others' names could be included. However, their names would also have to be included in the accountant's report and each of them would have to pay the higher contribution to the compensation fund.





Q. I have just started a job as the in-house solicitor at a law centre where client money is held in an account in the name of the law centre. Can I just continue this arrangement?


A. No. The client account of a law centre should be in the name(s) of the current principal solicitor(s) although the names of any other solicitor(s) employed there may be included as well (see rule 14(3)(d) and note (ii) of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998). If you are the only solicitor employed by the law centre, the client account will need to be in your name and must have the word 'client' in its title. Additional wording such as 'Re XXX law centre' may be included for clarification. For general guidance, refer to www.guidance.lawsociety.org.uk.


Question of ethics is compiled by the Law Society's professional ethics guidance team. Send questions for publication to Austin O'Malley, the Law Society, Ipsley Court, Berrington Close, Redditch B98 0TD; DX 19114 Redditch