Iain Miller

Iain specialises in regulatory and public law matters. He acts for individuals and organisations, as well as regulators, across a wide range of sectors. His particular expertise is in legal services regulation.  He is General Editor of the leading textbook on legal services regulation, Cordery on Legal Services. 

Iain’s experience in relation to legal services regulation dates back to 1994.  Since then he has acted in many of the leading cases. His experience covers not only disciplinary proceedings but also, business structures, investigations, public law challenges, liability and restructuring.  This work often includes dealing with regulators on behalf of clients.  Iain also provides policy, governance and litigation advice to legal services regulators in England & Wales and in other jurisdictions.

In other sectors Iain advises regulators as well as those who are the subject of regulatory action.

Iain is ranked as Band 1 in Chambers & Partners Guide to the UK Legal Profession in both the categories of Professional Discipline and Administrative & Public Law.  He is also a leading individual in the Legal 500 in the field of Professional Discipline as well as being named in relation to Partnership and Public Law. In 2013 Iain was included in the Lawyer Magazine's Hot 100. He is Vice-Chair of the Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers.

Recent Work

• Advising a financial services company on potential business structures for setting up an Alternative Business Structure
• Advising several in house legal teams on the work they can undertake without becoming an Alternative Business Structure
• Drafting a lawyers’ and accountancy conduct of code for a Gulf based regulator
• Advising a European regulator on developments in worldwide legal regulation
• Assisting law firms, individual solicitors and registered foreign lawyers in responding to investigations by the SRA including advice on SRA investigatory powers and jurisdiction
• Advising accountancy clients in relation to investigations by their regulators
• Advising several regulators on drafting their rules and decision making schemes
• Presenting cases to the Architects Registration Board’s Professional Conduct Committee
• Solicitors Regulation Authority v Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and Arslan [2016] EWHC 2862 (Admin) – Standard of Proof to be applied by the SDT in relation to proceedings where it is hearing an appeal from an SRA decision
• Solicitors Regulation Authority v Spector [2016] EWHC 37 (Admin) - Whether it was lawful for the SDT to anonymise the name of a solicitor at the end of disciplinary proceedings
• Lumsdon and others v The Legal Services Board [2015] UKSC 41 – Challenge by the Criminal Bar Association to the implementation of the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates
• Hemming v Westminster City Council [2015] UKSC 41 - Whether the Provision of Services Regulations precluded charging for enforcement and other costs as part of an authorisation scheme
• Acted for the Bar Standards Board in the drafting of their revised Code of Conduct, Entity Regulation Framework and application to become a Licensing Authority for Alternative Business Structures
• Advised the SRA on the regulatory aspects of the insolvency of Halliwells LLP, Dewey and LeBoeuf LLP,  Cobbetts LLP,  Manches LLP, Challinors and Davenport Lyons

Publications

Articles and Comments

• The Dark SIde of NDAs. Quoted in IBA, February 2019
• Law firm bullying culture in spotlight. Quoted in The Times, January 2019
• At last we are moving away from a state of limbo over NDAs Published in The Times in January 2019 with Richard Fox
• Law firms investigated for gagging alleged victims of sexual abuse. Quoted in The Times in October 2018
• Iain’s article Locke Lord’s SDT fine: the new normal was published in The Lawyer in November 2017
• Iain's  LSA 10 year anniversary blog series was mentioned in The Times Law Diary in October 2017
• The Law Society Gazette quoted Iain in their article How to: Close a law firm in October 2017  
• Iain was quoted by Law Society Gazette in their article Unpaid SDT fines on rogue solicitors top £2.6m in October 2017 
• Iain and Sian Jone’s article“White & Case: the shape of things to come in SDT cases?” appeared in theLaw Society Gazette in September 2017
• Iain’s article“The brave new world of price transparency and what it means for firms” appeared in The Times in September 2017

Other publications

• General Editor, Cordery on Legal Services, Lexis Nexis, Looseleaf.
• Co-Editor, Butterworth’s Guide to the Legal Services Act 2007.
• Co-Author, Alternative Business Structures, Law Society Publications
• Member of the Editorial Board of the Law Society's Legal Compliance Bulletin
•  Member of Consulting Editorial Board of LexisPSL Practice Compliance

what clients and directories have said

"incredibly accessible, knowledgeable, thoughtful and pragmatic in his approach"

Legal 500 2019

"fabulous"

Legal 500 2019

"He's very down-to-earth, unflappable and pragmatic," 

Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2019

"he looks for solutions rather than issues."

Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2019

"He is pragmatic, very sensible and analytical in his approach. He is always well prepared and thinks through all of the issues."

Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2018

"Kingsley Napley LLP’s ‘star is rising this year’ with the lateral hire of Iain Miller"

Legal 500 2017

"He knows us as a client and our environment and he knows what are realistic and practical solutions for us."

Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2017

"fountain of all knowledge" 

Chambers UK, A Clients Guide to the UK Legal Profession, 2017
 

“probably one of the top solicitors in this sphere.”

Chambers UK, A Clients Guide to the UK Legal Profession, 2017