The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal is bracing itself for prosecutions relating to Axiom Ince and the Post Office next year, it has emerged.
A report on the future budget of the SDT has revealed that the tribunal expected to hear cases relating to these two matters in mid-2025. It is understood that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been in contact with the tribunal about future workloads and has given an indication that Axiom Ince and the Post Office cases would arise next year.
The Post Office Inquiry into the Horizon IT scandal finishes at the end of this year, with a report likely next spring or summer. The SRA has previously indicated that it would wait until the inquiry has ended before proceeding with any potential disciplinary proceedings against solicitors involved. More than 20 live investigations were under way into solicitors and law firms linked to the Post Office scandal earlier this summer.
The SRA suspended three directors of national firm Axiom Ince in August 2023, including former managing partner Pragnesh Modhwadia. The firm was shut down around two months later following an SRA intervention and went into administration around the same time.
Any cases relating to the Post Office and Axiom Ince are said to affect the tribunal budget for 2026. The SDT has flagged up the potential costs as an early warning to the oversight regulator, the Legal Services Board, which approves its annual budget.
In terms of the 2025 budget, the SDT will apply at this week’s LSB board meeting to increase its allocation from £2.5m to £3.1m. This is based on the number of sitting days rising from 260 this year to 300 in 2025. The tribunal said there has been a 50% increase in cases referred from the SRA in the past eight months. These will need to be dealt with next year and may also slip into 2026.
The SDT says its team has been ‘stretched’ in dealing with an increased caseload this year and there has been staff turnover with the resignation of the finance director and appointment of an interim in the past two months. The proposed budget includes two additional posts: a finance administrator and deputy clerk.
The LSB is invited to accept the recommendation to approve the SDT budget at tomorrow’s meeting.
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