Man’s house sale in limbo as solicitor shuts
A man who was weeks away from selling his terminally ill brother’s house said he was left “adrift and helpless” after the law firm he used was closed.
Ross Coates Solicitors in Ipswich has been closed by the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA), which said it was taking action to “protect the public”.
According to the firm’s website, clients with any unresolved issues with the firm will now be “transferred” to Lester Aldridge Solicitors.
Christopher Payne, 71, said the sale of a house belonging to his 84-year-old brother, who has Alzheimer’s disease, was “going well” but now “hasn’t happened yet”.
“I received an email from the solicitor saying they were very sorry and that it would be a shock, but the practice was closed due to an investigation,” he told the BBC.
“It’s disappointing and now I’m trying to make something of it; it’s just uncertainty and anxiety, it’s exhausting.”
Payne, whose brother is in a nursing home, said his broker assured him he would get his files and find him another lawyer.
“It was a shock because my brother had spent a significant amount of money, around £1,000, along with various fees, to progress the sale,” he added.
“And now I’m kind of left high and dry.”
‘Protect the public’
Details are unclear as to why the regulator felt the need to intervene so suddenly.
According to the website, such action can be taken when “something goes wrong” and intervention is needed to “protect the public.”
It is also stated that the company’s owner, Ross Coates, “failed to comply” with sections of the Administration of Justice Act 1985 and “intervention is necessary”.
The enforced closure comes less than a year after the SRA fined the solicitor’s firm £13,690 following an investigation into “identified areas of concern” from 2017 to 2025.
These concerned the firm’s failure to establish and maintain policies, controls and procedures that “reduce the risks of money laundering and terrorist financing.”
The SRA also said that between 2011 and 2017 the firm failed to establish and maintain “fully appropriate and risk-sensitive policies and procedures”.
These relate, among other things, to customer due diligence measures and procedures for ongoing monitoring, reporting and record keeping.
The SRA said this also made the company susceptible to potential risks such as money laundering and terrorist financing.
Ross Coates Solicitors, Lester Aldridge Solicitors and the SRA have been contacted for comment.
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