Client blocked from father's legacy after solicitor firm ceases trading

A client from Falmouth, Cornwall says she cannot access her late father’s legacy after the solicitor handling the probate, Samuel Phillips Law, ceased trading. Her probate application was close to being finalised when the firm sent an email this month saying it had stopped trading, the letter said.

She told the Guardian she has instructed new solicitors but Samuel Phillips Law still holds her file and will not answer calls or emails. Self-employed and without money after caring for her dying father, she said she cannot access the legacy or confirm whether the estate meets the inheritance tax threshold.

Her new solicitors told her they can complain to the regulator but that the process may take months. The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) closed Samuel Phillips Law and a sister firm, Hathaways, run by the same man, Sufe Miah. The SRA said there is "reason to suspect dishonesty on the part of Sufe Miah in connection with his practice as a solicitor" and that it had to act to protect clients.

Staff and trainee solicitors at both companies lost their jobs, and the SRA has appointed another legal firm to deal with the companies’ clients. When the Guardian alerted the SRA to the case, the stand-in agent called the client and provided electronic copies of her files. The SRA said it will hold paperwork from closed cases, such as deeds and wills, in its archive and will disburse funds retrieved from client accounts.

Key Topics

Business, Samuel Phillips Law, Solicitors Regulation Authority, Sufe Miah, Hathaways, Falmouth