Solicitors' accounts manual (11th ed)

Fully updated and revised, the 11th edition of the Manual takes account of changes to the Solicitors' Accounts Rules up to 31st March 2009.

Key changes in this edition include: the introduction of specific obligations for the prompt return of surplus client funds and reporting to clients if funds are retained; provisions to enable solicitors to deal with the withdrawal of smaller residual client balances without recourse to the SRA; the treatment of money previously defined as 'controlled trust money' (abolished by the Legal Services Act 2007); an the introduction of more flexible, risk-based provisions for the delivery of accountants' reports.

An up-to-date version of the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998 is reproduced in full along with relevant extracts from the Solicitors' Code of Conduct 2007 as amended to 31 March 2009.

Reflecting the introduction of LDPs and firm-based regulation, the Solicitors' Accounts Rules 1998 apply to sole practitioners, partnerships, companies, LLPs, practices with non-solicitor lawyers as managers, and practices with up to 25 percent of managers who are not legally qualified. The rules will also apply to the individual managers and employees of those practices, and to in-house lawyers.