The Intervention of Abington Law Ltd and the practice of Joseph Glass including but not limited to his practice at Abington Law Ltd

Abington Law Ltd (SRA number: 811106) has been intervened by The Solicitors Regulation Authority (“The SRA”). The practice of Joseph Glass (SRA number: 99238) including but not limited to his practice at Abington Law LTD has been intervened by the SRA.

The above firm and practice have been intervened by the SRA to protect the interests of its clients or former clients.

Please contact the SRA’s intervention agents at Shakespeare Martineau LLP via post at SHMA SRA Interventions, PO Box 18228, Birmingham B2 2HX, via telephone at 0300 247 2470 or via email at interventions@shma.co.uk.

What has happened to Abington Law Ltd?

Abington Law Ltd of 5 Clocktower Park, Longmoor Lane, Liverpool, L10 1LD, has been closed down by the SRA. This is called an intervention. The intervention took place on 23 October 2024

Shakespeare Martineau of 1 Colmore Square, Birmingham, B4 6AA are helping with the closure.

Please contact Shakespeare Martineau’s Interventions Team on 0300 247 2470 if you wish to speak to someone or email interventions@shma.co.uk

The SRA has also intervened into the practice of Joseph Glass including but not limited to his practice at Abington Law Ltd.

What does this mean?

The closed firm can no longer act for you. You will need to find another solicitor. We have not taken over the closed firm and cannot act for you.

You can choose any solicitor you like to act for you. If you do not know another solicitor then your local Citizens Advice Bureau may be able to help you with this. If you have access to the internet you can also search for solicitors in your area by visiting The Law Society’s website at www.lawsociety.org.uk/choosingandusing/findasolicitor or by calling the Law Society on 020 7320 5650 Monday to Friday from 09:00 to 17:00.

If you need a legal aid lawyer, you can find one here: https://find-legal-advice.justice.gov.uk/. If you have a live legal aid certificate, we can only send your file to another legal aid lawyer.

What happens to my money?

The money in the closed firm’s bank accounts has been transferred to the SRA.

Shakespeare Martineau or the SRA will look at the closed firm’s accounts to work out who the money belongs to. The SRA will try to return any money the closed firm was holding for you.

You will need to make an application for money to be returned to you. 

If the closed firm’s accounts are not in good order, it might be hard to work out exactly how much money is owed—and to who. For that reason, it might take us or the SRA some time to return your money.

If the money cannot be returned to you or only part of it can, you, can apply to our Compensation Fund for a grant.

If you urgently need money that the closed firm was holding for you, you can apply to the Compensation Fund for a payment.

There is no guarantee that you will get a payment. You must prove that the solicitor was holding your money and satisfy the Fund’s other rules.

For more information, please email claims.management@sra.org.uk or telephone 0121 820 2580.

What happens to my file?

The SRA is in the process of collecting all client files and documents, that have not been transferred to other firms or organisations, from the firm’s office(s) or storage location(s).

If your file has been recovered, we or the SRA will write to tell you and ask you where you would like your file to be sent. You can have you file sent to you or your new solicitor.

You or your new lawyer should let us know as soon as possible where you would like your file to be sent as there may be important time limits in place.

It is possible to support your new solicitors with making progress more quickly by sending them any correspondence or documentation that you received before the intervention took place. They may also be able to access information from other solicitors/organisations involved in the matter.

If your matter is legally aided, then your file can only be released to a solicitor who undertakes this type of work.

How can I obtain my will, deed an old closed file or another record?

If you believe the intervened firm were holding any such records for you, please contact us on interventions@shma.co.uk or call 0300 247 2470.

How can I get more information?

Find out more about interventions at the SRA’s website: https://www.sra.org.uk/consumers/problems/solicitor-closed-down/intervention.page

If you would like to talk to someone in our team at Shakespeare Martineau, please call 0300 2472470.

I want to complain about the intervened firm? What can I do?

If you wish to complain or have already lodged a complaint about service then you can contact the Legal Ombudsman in addition to ourselves. Further information can be found at https://www.legalombudsman.org.uk/ and they can be contacted at enquiries@legalombudsman.org.uk or called on 0300 555 0333 or written to at:

PO Box 6806

Wolverhampton

WV1 9WJ

We are not representatives of the firm so will not be handling complaints but are keen to find out any information that may help us in dealing with the intervention in returning files and monies to the rightful owners.

I was an employee of the intervened firm. What can I do?

We understand that this is an extremely difficult time for you. Our role is to focus purely on the protection of clients and supporting them in whatever way we can. We are not a representative or a successor practice to the intervened firm. We are therefore unable to deal with issues relating to your employment.

Please feel free to contact us with any information that you believe may support us in our role of supporting clients. Regarding your personal employment position you may find the following links supportive:

https://www.acas.org.uk/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk

https://www.lawcare.org.uk/