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Impact on solicitors’ undertakings given in property transactions post-Harcus Sinclair v Your Lawyers
Iain Miller
Iain specialises in legal ethics, investigations, and public law matters. 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 relating to the regulation of lawyers in England and Wales. His experience covers not only disciplinary proceedings but also, business structures, investigations, public law challenges, liability and restructuring. Iain acts for a number of large law firms in advising them on SRA related issues as well as providing advice to law firm partners. Iain also provides policy, governance and litigation advice to regulators in England & Wales and in other jurisdictions.
Iain is ranked as Band 2 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.
Recent Work
- Advising law firms and individual partners in relation to investigations by the SRA in relation to alleged sexual misconduct in the workplace;
- Advising several large firms in relation to their reporting obligations to the SRA and the conduct of internal investigations
- 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
- Advising accountancy clients in relation to investigations by their regulators
- Advising several regulators on drafting their rules and decision making schemes
- Provided expert support on the law relating to undertakings to Your Lawyers in the Supreme Court case of Harcus Sinclair LLP v Your Lawyers Limited [2021] UKSC 32
- 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 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 Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new rules need work, article written for the Times Online, May 2020.
- Solicitors warned to expect extension of price transparency rules, Quoted in Law Society Gazette, March 2019
- What amounts to sexual harassment in law firms “evolving fast”. Quoted in Legal Futures, March 2019
- Towards clarity on reporting obligations. Published in Law Society Gazette, March 2019
- Conduct Unbecoming. Quoted in Law Society Gazette, February 2019
- 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 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 Jones' article“White & Case: the shape of things to come in SDT cases?” appeared in the Law 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 appointments
- 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
- Member of the Advisory Panel on Legal Regulatory Matters of the Astana International Financial Centre
what clients and directories have said
"He is a class act who has great powers of judgement and good knowledge of the issues."
Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2021
"He is just incredibly technically knowledgeable. He is also very pragmatic and adopts a very nuanced approach."
Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2021
"hugely experienced, solicitor of choice for advising the legal regulators (SRA and BSB etc.) and other regulators. Very good judgment, unflappable and very bright."
Legal 500 2020
"an SRA guru."
Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2020
A standout practitioner who is highly sought after for his knowledge of legal regulatory processes
Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2019
"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's one of the most knowledgeable lawyers on legal regulation and the more difficult or specialist areas."
Chambers UK, A Client's Guide to the UK Legal Profession 2018
"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
professional societies and memberships
- Immediate past chair - Association of Regulatory and Disciplinary Lawyers
- Member of Advisory Board of UCL’s Centre for Ethics and Law review of the Statutory Framework for legal services
- Member of the City of London Law Society’s Professional Rules and Regulation Committee
- Officer of the International Bar Association’s Professional Ethics Committee
- Member of the International Bar Association’s International Trade in Legal Services Committee
- Member of the American Bar Association
