Bevan Brittan has revealed it will not re-tender for a spot on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) panel following the departure of former head of commercial litigation Iain Miller to Kingsley Napley.
The firm won spots on the regulator’s litigation roster in 2010 and 2013, but has confirmed it will not be seeking re-appointment.
It comes as the SRA looks to disband its current disciplinary proceedings and litigation panels in favour of creating one central panel. Firms on the new panel will provide the SRA with services including prosecution, advocacy and appeals before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).
Bevan Brittan managing partner Duncan Weir explained: “We reviewed the continuing level of investment required to deliver this aspect of our legal regulatory work and decided not to re-tender for the SRA panel work.
“This was not an easy decision because the SRA has been a valued client for a number of years.”
The news comes as Miller prepares to leave the firm’s litigation, advisory and regulatory department, joining Kingsley Napley on Monday (5 December).
He joined Bevan Brittan as a partner in 2006 after a 12-year career at Wright Son & Pepper.
Other firms appointed to the SRA litigation panel in 2013 include Capsticks, Kingsley Napley, Simmons & Simmons and Russell Cooke. Bevan Brittan was also on the disciplinary proceedings panel alongside Blake Morgan and Pennington Manches.
In August, the solicitors’ watchdog revealed it was looking to overhaul its panel of external advisers by disbanding its disciplinary proceedings and litigation panels.
News of the overhaul came just months after the regulator launched a review of its litigation panel in February amid a wider review of its internal legal function. It also rolled over its legal panel for prosecution work at the start of the year for another 12 months.
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