A Sheffield law firm and its subsidiaries appears to ceased trading with notices placed on office doors and former employees taking to social media to advise of their availability for work.
In a widely shared image on social media Butterworths Solicitors in Carlisle placed a notice on its front door on the morning of 2nd February advising
“Due to regulatory matter the PM Group businesses carried out within this building can no longer trade.”
Butterworths is a subsidiary of Sheffield-based PM Law which counts PM Property Lawyers, GN Law, Gaines & Wilkinson, John M Lewis & Co, Valerie Holmes Law and Wilsons Solicitors amongst its brands.
It has quickly become clear the closures have affected the group with reports of firms unable to make contact, as concerns about forthcoming transactions and property exchanges rise. At the time of writing there has been no formal response from PM Law despite attempts by this publication to clarify the situation. None of the firm’s websites provide any update.
Nor is there any information on the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) website with the closure apparently catching the regulator off-guard; in a statement they said they had fielded a number of calls about office closures:
“When law firms close, they must do so in accordance with our rules to make sure that client interests are protected. This includes advising those with live matters about seeking new representation, returning archived files to past clients and the redistribution of any monies held.
“We have had a number of calls on Monday 2 February that suggest Butterworths have not closed in the manner we’d expect. We will be contacting the partners of Butterworths to find out what’s going on and to remind them of their professional obligations. If they are closing, we would expect those affected should be contacted soon.”
It is understood staff were unaware of the closures and were told not to go into the office. Today’s Conveyancer has reached out to PM Law for comment. We will report further as more details emerge.
Full list of affected brands/law firms
- PM Property Lawyers
- PM Legal Services
- Lloyd Green Solicitors
- All Your Accidents
- Angela Viney Conveyancing Services
- Proddow Mackay (Conveyancing) Limited
- Gaines & Wilkinson Ltd
- John M Lewis & Co Ltd
- Barrett and Co Solicitors
- Valerie Holmes Law
- Wilsons Solicitors
- PLA Law
- Butterworths Solicitors
- WB Pennine Solicitors
- bridgeview law
- GN Law
- proddowmackay.law
- DAzur Law
- KB Property Law
If you have a vacancy you would like to share with those affected please comment on this article and Today’s Conveyancer will also share on socials. A post on the Today’s Conveyancer LlinkedIn company page has a number of vacancies listed, with firms welcome to add their details to enable those affected to get in touch.
32 responses
Such a shame to see so many people now left uncertain about their futures. I’m currently looking for a 10 year PQE conveyancing specialist to join our team at jcclegal in a senior role. Please reach out to chris@jcclegal.co.uk if you are interested.
Well done Christopher
In recent days, we have seen colleagues in Sheffield and beyond face sudden office closures and the loss of roles they have spent years training for, and building their professional identity around.
For those affected, this is not simply a change of employment. It is the shattering of plans made in good faith, the disruption of families and finances, and the abrupt end of work undertaken with diligence and pride. Property lawyers know better than most that stability is hard‑won and easily lost. No one enters this profession lightly, and no one deserves to be left carrying uncertainty alone. Moments like this test the character of the legal profession itself.
This is a time for the legal community to close ranks around those who have been displaced: to offer practical help, introductions, mentoring, and, above all, the reassurance that their skills, integrity, and years of service still matter.
Quiet solidarity is sometimes the strongest form of advocacy. Today, the profession needs to show it.
And clients can sit in isolation. When other should have spoken up, 200 plus staff saw nothing to report. Integrity is not obvious here.
As a Butterworths client we were never informed they were no longer independent and now part on PM Law. Only when I have looked back through emails after the social media post did I realise a change, between June to August 2024, to small print of the email footer. Shouldn’t clients be informed of a change of ownership. Also, why do you solicitors insist on storing our Wills? So I don’t even have my own Will in my possession, which I paid for. We’ve had no response to emails asking how and when our documentation will be retrieved from their storage and given to us. It’s rather concerning as the Wills were not cheap and they charged full price for a simple amendment. I’d rather use Rocket Lawyer in future.
The SRA haven’t responded to us clients either and noone knows what is happening. The honest lawyer….
Please contact feena@xec-t.com if you are open to new opportunities. We are recruiting qualified solicitors for UK-based clients. Please share this with your network.
So sad and and apparently so sudden, rather than giving notice. Seems like there will be chaos with clients who are about to complete house moves, or settle disputes etc.
For those who are looking for Conveyancing work, I know Chadwick Lawrence are looking to recruit. across their various offices. You can visit their website to find out more about the firm. https://www.chadwicklawrence.co.uk/careers/
Yes they told me my completion date is 2nd February seems dodgy to me.
It is dreadful to see any business faillure, but one where so many colleagues and clients are left exposed without explanation or support is atrocious. We have several vacancies in our conveyancing offices in the East Midlands and Yorkshire, I would be delighted to introduce anyone to the relevant people. Please do get in touch.
Really sorry to see these events unfold. We have opportunities for Probate Wills and Power of Attorney specialists alongside conveyancing. We are based in North Nottinghamshire. Please contact Nicola – nharthill@fidler.co.uk
You should investigate the directors
Todays Conveyancer should investigate the Directors?
We understand how difficult and uncertain this time may feel, both for clients with ongoing matters and for professionals affected by recent firm closures.
At MYM Solicitors, we are here to help.
We continue to offer trusted legal services across conveyancing and all core practice areas, and we welcome conversations with legal professionals and support staff seeking new opportunities as we grow.
If you need assistance or would like to explore joining our team, please contact us at: careers@mymsolicitors.co.uk.
We look forward to supporting you and building a positive future together.
SRG Recruitment have vacancies all over the country and can help you and advise you select the right firm.
Get in touch with the team on 01162755666
This is extremely concerning to read and our sympathies go out to those affected.
Should you be seeking a new opportunity with regard to residential conveyancing or a Wills and Probate role we are currently recruiting. We are based in the Tameside area.
Please contact us should you wish to learn more.
Law@rupertwood.co.uk
We are currently hiring for a Commercial Property Solicitor. Please feel free to send me an email sanjeev@ak-law.co.uk
I wish everyone the best of luck moving forward.
I very much hope all client funds have been protected and no client loses money as a result. SRA needs to jump on this very very quickly and supply the public information and confidence.
“We have received calls that suggest Butterworths / PM Law Limited has not closed in the manner we would expect. We are in contact with the firm to remind the partners of their professional obligations. If the firm is closing, we expect that those affected should be contacted soon.
There is no further information we can provide at this time. We will update our website when we have more information. Thank you for your understanding”
Utterly pathetic from the SRA. Get in the office, get a grip and understand what is going on PDQ. We are in contact with the firm to remind the Partners of their professional obligations is weak and pathetic. After Axiom Ince, you would think that the SRA would want to show some authority.
Please contact Dottie Lee MCIPD for vacancies in The MAPD Group.
My deepest sympathies go out to staff and clients.
If anyone is looking for opportunities in the lakes, THW are recruiting across various offices across Cumbria.
https://www.thwlegal.co.uk/work-with-us/
Whilst it is appreciated that staff will be devastated and need to find new jobs, pressing concern #1 must be ensuring that the client money is protected and no client has lost money. I am surprised about the total lack of reassurance to the clients so far.
This is dreadful and I really do feel for the staff and clients affected. I hope that the understandable wish of many for investigation and information is granted, and that if individuals are at fault then they are brought to account.
In the meantime like many others on here I confirm that we at Arthur Jackson & Co. in Rotherham are looking to recruit so if you have a need then please email us at co@arthurjackson.co.uk. In particular we are looking for a matrimonial solicitor to take over and expand that side of the practice, also a residential / commercial property solicitor and a Probate Assistant.
Good luck to you all.
As a clients father who has save 3 years for a deposit to find himself in this position is heart breaking. Sorry dont have much care about stsff who must have been aware somewhere and did nothing.SRA not giving any information out.
This is so concerning to read and our sympathies go out to those affected.
We are currently hiring for two Residential Conveyancers and a Commercial Property Solicitor In Eastwood Nottingham and Ilkeston Derbyshire. Please feel free to send me an email dawn.white@charlesnewton.co.uk
I wish everyone the best of luck moving forward.
I have no idea where to go from here.
I was at the final stages (preparing for exchange and completion) I went to call them for an update this morning on timelines to find this news. Now I’m in limbo. I have a date to be out of the property I’m currently renting with no ability to stay on and now I’m at a loss. I feel bad for the staff and now I’m facing potential homelessness, I have no where to go. What do we do as clients?
I was just weeks away from completing on my first home when my purchase was thrown into uncertainty because the seller’s solicitor, part of PM Law Group, collapsed without warning or proper handover.
Months of effort, money, and planning now hang in the balance through no fault of my own. What should have been a life milestone has turned into stress and anxiety.
This shows the real human cost when firms fail without accountability.
Reading numerous comments from clients who are in breach of contract, received notices to complete, have sent funds to the firm, have drawn mortgage funds, some even potentially have two mortgages running as a result. The SRA need to be saying and doing more quickly. A holding message is not enough
Any advice for me as one of their clients? Had TR1 forms signed and i was agreeing completion date with them on Friday the 30th Jan. Wake up to this and no idea who to contact or what to do.
Me too, I was waiting for a date. Would appreciate advice.
I think everyone’s situation is different and I think client’s should be talking to local conveyancers to see what the advantages would be of swapping instructions over. For example, if someone only instructed last week and paid a small amount on account, it might be beneficial to swap it over to someone new, potentially write off the amount on account and start again. Alternatively, if someone has got to the end of the transaction and paid money for deposit etc. they may need to wait it out. I think it is fair to say that should the files need to be transferred to another law firm by the SRA, that process could well not be quick. The new law firm will no doubt be inundated with lots of files, lots of calls, lots of emails and they will need to spend some hours going through each file, understanding it and conducting due diligence. Some of the files take 6-8 hours of work to get to exchange and if you x that by an active file list of lets say 80 per fee earner, that is 640 hours of work, per fee earner.
I have had a file in the last 3 months where a new firm took over the old firm (not sure of the reason why) and it took the firm three weeks to get up to speed with the file.
Please note that we are not allowed to tout for business so you will need to go out and seek someone to help you.
There is now a facebook group for clients of PM Law. There are a couple of troubling posts where it is suggested that mortgages have not been redeemed on a sale/remortgage and client funds have not been paid following a sale. Another story of a buyers solicitor transferring funds on a purchase but nothing from PM Law. Seemingly no key release. People have had notices to complete served on them. Funds have been drawn down from lenders, clients have transferred money.
The SRA? Save for their stock message, complete silence. Hopefully all of the client funds have been protected and there has not been any kind of misappropriation of it but it seems that clients are already losing money, clients interests have not been protected so the compensation fund may well take another hit. Has the SRA been asleep at the wheel….again?
No news from the SRA today. Considering the predicament clients are in, that is particularly poor especially after previous issues with the SRA. Frankly, I think that they are an organisation not fit for purpose anymore.