A Whitehaven firm has been sanctioned for incorrectly retaining residual balances for almost 10 years, with one balance worth over £50,000.
Brockbank Curwen Cain & Hall Limited was investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in 2020, after the firm’s accountants report for the accounting period ending June 2020 was qualified, with one of the qualifications related to residual balances.
The SRA’s on-site inspection found the firm held balances of £232,065 on 188 matters, the oldest of which dated back to 2016. The largest single balance was £50,291.95. When the issue was flagged by the SRA, the firm offered assurances it would clear the balances.
Five years later, when the firm responded to an accounts rule spot check questionnaire reporting residual balances of £140,910 on 85 matters, the SRA conducted a second investigation.
During the subsequent investigation, the firm confirmed it held residual balances of £48,317 on 81 matters in July 2025 and £34,840 on 47 matters in August 2025. The list of residual balances provided by the firm revealed three of the remaining balances dated back to 2016.
The firm acknowledged it had failed to return client money promptly to the client or third party for whom it had been held, dating back to 2016. It also admitted it had failed to take adequate steps to return balances following the SRA’s 2020 investigation.
‘The Firm’s failure to adequately address these residual balances for nearly 10 years, despite being drawn to its attention in 2020, demonstrates a pattern of failing to comply with its regulatory obligations’, the SRA noted in its written decision.
The firm was ordered to pay the £300 costs of the SRA’s investigation and its senior members instructed to ‘take all reasonable steps’ to return the remaining residual balances as soon as reasonably practical, and within a maximum period of 12 months.
‘When considering the appropriate sanctions and controls in this matter, the SRA has taken into account the admissions made by the Firm and the following mitigation which it has put forward’, the SRA said.
“The Firm has reflected on the ongoing failure to address aged residual balances. They have now put in place a 3-step process to reviewing balances, escalating any lack of attention through the steps to the senior management team which should prompt the necessary engagement with fee earners to address any persistent balances.”
The SRA also acknowledged that the firm had improved its processes and procedures for dealing with residual balances, but said the problem ‘has persisted longer than is reasonable’.
“During this time, the residual balances have been kept securely in the Firm’s client account and there has been no lasting or significant harm to clients caused by clients by the Firm’s actions. No clients have reported to the SRA that the Firm has failed to return their money.”
