Solicitors Act 1974

Unqualified persons acting as solicitorsE+W

20 Unqualified person not to act as solicitor.E+W

(1)No unqualified person shall—

(a)act as a solicitor, or as such issue any writ or process, or commence, prosecute or defend any action, suit or other proceeding, in his own name or in the name of any other person, in any court of civil or criminal jurisdiction; or

(b)act as a solicitor in any cause or matter, civil or criminal, to be heard or determined before any justice or justices or any commissioners of Her Majesty’s revenue.

(2)Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1)—

(a)shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction on indictment to imprisonment for not more than two years or to a fine or to both; and

(b)shall be guilty of contempt of the court in which the action, suit, cause, matter or proceeding in relation to which he so acts is brought or taken and may be punished accordingly; . . . F1

(c). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . F1

[F2(3)A person exempted from the provisions of section 23(1) by virtue of section 23(2) or (3) of this Act or section 55 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 may, in any non–contentious or common form probate business, apply for a grant of probate or for letters of administration or oppose such an application without committing an offence under this section.

(4)In subsection (3) ’non–contentious or common form probate business’ has the same meaning as in section 128 of the Supreme Court Act 1981.]

21 Unqualified person not to pretend to be a solicitor.E+W

Any unqualified person who wilfully pretends to be, or takes or uses any name, title, addition or description implying that he is, qualified or recognised by law as qualified to act as a solicitor shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to [F3a fine not exceeding the fourth level on the standard scale]

22 Unqualified person not to prepare certain instruments. E+W

(1)Subject to [F4subsections (2) and (2A)], any unqualified person who directly or indirectly—

(a)draws or prepares any instrument of transfer or charge for the purposes of the M1Land Registration Act 1925, or makes any application or lodges any document for registration under that Act at the registry, or

(b)draws or prepares any other instrument relating to real or personal estate, or any legal proceeding,

shall, unless he proves that the act was not done for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding [F5level 3 on the standard scale].

(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a)a barrister or duly certificated notary public;

[F6(aa)a registered trade mark agent drawing or preparing any instrument relating to any design, trade mark or service mark;

(ab)a registered patent agent drawing or preparing any instrument relating to any invention, design technical information, trade mark or service mark.]

(b)any public officer drawing or preparing instruments or applications in the course of his duty;

(c)any person employed merely to engross any instrument, application or proceeding;

and paragraph (b) of that subsection does not apply to a duly certificated solicitor in Scotland.

[F7(2A)Subsection (1) also does not apply to any act done by a person at the direction and under the supervision of another person if—

(a)that other person was at the time his employer, a partner of his employer or a fellow employee; and

(b)the act could have been done by that other person for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward without committing an offence under this section.]

(3)For the purposes of subsection (1)(b), “instrument”[F8includes a contract for the sale or other disposition of land (except a contract to grant such a lease as is referred to in section 54(2) of the M2Law of Property Act 1925 (short leases)), but]does not include—

(a)a will or other testamentary instrument;

(b)an agreement not [F9intended to be executed as a deed][F10other than a contract that is included by virtue of the preceding provisions of this subsection;]

(c)a letter or power of attorney; or

(d)a transfer of stock containing no trust or limitation thereof.

[F11(3A)In subsection (2)—

• “registered trade mark agent” has the same meaning as in section 282(1) of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act M31988; and

• “registered patent agent” has the same meaning as in section 275(1) of that Act.]

[F12(4)A local weights and measures authority may institute proceedings for an offence under this section.]

[F1322A Powers of entry etc. of local weights and measures authorities.E+W

(1)Any authorised officer who has reasonable cause to suspect that an offence may have been committed under section 22 may, at any reasonable time—

(a)enter any premises which are not used solely as a dwelling;

(b)require any officer, agent or other competent person on the premises who is, or may be, in possession of information relevant to an investigation under section 22, to provide such information;

(c)require the production of any document which may be relevant to such an investigation;

(d)take copies, or extracts, of any such documents;

(e)seize and retain any document which he has reason to believe may be required as evidence in proceedings for an offence under section 22.

(2)Any person exercising any power given by subsection (1) shall, if asked to do so, produce evidence that he is an authorised officer.

(3)A justice of the peace may issue a warrant under this section if satisfied, on information on oath given by an authorised officer, that there is reasonable cause to believe that an offence may have been committed under section 22 and that—

(a)entry to the premises concerned, or production of any documents which may be relevant to an investigation under section 22, has been or is likely to be refused to an authorised officer; or

(b)there is reasonable cause to believe that, if production of any such document were to be required by the authorised officer without a warrant having been issued under this section, the document would not be produced but would be removed from the premises or hidden, tampered with or destroyed.

(4)A warrant issued under this section shall authorise the authorised officer accompanied, where he considers it appropriate, by a constable or any other person—

(a)to enter the premises specified in the information, using such force as is reasonably necessary; and

(b)to exercise any of the powers given to the authorised officer by subsection (1).

(5)If a person—

(a)intentionally obstructs an authorised officer in the exercise of any power under this section;

(b)intentionally fails to comply with any requirement properly imposed on him by an authorised officer in the exercise of any such power;

(c)fails, without reasonable excuse, to give to an authorised officer any assistance or information which he may reasonably require of him for the purpose of exercising any such power; or

(d)in giving to an authorised officer any information which he has been required to give to an authorised officer exercising any such power, makes any statement which he knows to be false or misleading in a material particular,

he shall be guilty of an offence.

(6)A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(7)Nothing in this section shall be taken to require any person to answer any question put to him by an authorised officer, or to give any information to an authorised officer, if to do so might incriminate him.

(8)In this section—

• “authorised officer” means any officer of a local weights and measures authority who is authorised by the authority to exercise the powers given by subsection (1); and

• “document” includes information recorded in any form.

(9)In relation to information recorded otherwise than in legible form, references in this section to its production include references to producing a copy of the information in legible form.]

[F1423 Unqualified person not to prepare papers for probate etc. E+W

(1)Subject to subsections (2) and (3), any unqualified person who, directly or indirectly, draws or prepares any papers on which to found or oppose—

(a)a grant of probate, or

(b)a grant of letters of administration,

shall, unless he proves that the act was not done for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward, be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding the first level on the standard scale.

[F15(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to a barrister or duly certificated notary public.

(3)Subsection (1) also does not apply to any act done by a person at the direction and under the supervision of another person if—

(a)that other person was at the time his employer, a partner of his employer or a fellow employee; and

(b)the act could have been done by that other person for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward without committing an offence under this section.]

[F15(2)Subsection (1) does not apply to—

(a)a barrister;

(b)a duly certificated notary public;

(c)the Public Trustee;

(d)the Official Solicitor;

(e)any institution which—

(i)is authorised by the Bank of England, under Part I of the Banking Act M41987, to carry on a deposit–taking business; and

(ii)satisfies the conditions mentioned in subsection (2A);

(f)any building society which—

(i)is authorised to raise money from its members by the Building Societies Commission under section 9 of the Building Societies Act M51986; and

(ii)satisfies those conditions;

(g)any insurance company which—

(i)is authorised under section 3 or 4 of the Insurance Companies Act M61982; and

(ii)satisfies those conditions;

(h)any subsidiary (as defined by section 736(1) of the Companies Act M71985) of a body falling within paragraph (e), (f) or (g)—

(i)whose business, or any part of whose business, consists of acting as trustee or executor; and

(ii)which satisfies those conditions.

(2A)The conditions are that the body is a member of, or otherwise subject to, a scheme which—

(a)has been established (whether or not exclusively) for the purpose of dealing with complaints about the provision of probate services; and

(b)complies with such requirements as many be prescribed by regulations made by the Lord Chancellor with respect to matters relating to such complaints.

(3)Subsection (1) also does not apply to—

(a)any act done by an officer or employee of a body corporate at a time when it is exempt from subsection (1) by virtue of any of paragraphs (e) to (h) of subsection (2) or by virtue of section 55 of the Courts and Legal Services Act 1990 (preparation of probate papers etc.); or

(b)any act done by any person at the direction and under the supervision of another person if—

(i)that other person was at the time his employer, a partner of his employer or a fellow employee; and

(ii)the act could have been done by that other person for or in expectation of any fee, gain or reward without committing an offence under this section.

(4)For the avoidance of doubt, where a person does any act which would constitute an offence under subsection (1) but for an exemption given to him by this section or by or under any other enactment, he shall not be guilty of an offence under section 22 by virtue of having done that act.]]

24 Application of penal provisions to body corporate.E+W

(1)If any act is done by a body corporate, or by any director, officer or servant of a body corporate, and is of such a nature or is done in such a manner as to be calculated to imply that the body corporate is qualified or recognised by law as qualified to act as a solicitor—

(a)the body corporate shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to [F16a fine not exceeding the fourth level on the standard scale, and]

(b)in the case of an act done by a director, officer or servant of the body corporate, he also shall be guilty of an offence and liable on summary conviction to [F17a fine not exceeding the fourth level on the standard scale.]

(2)For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that in sections 20, 22 and 23 references to unqualified persons and to persons include references to bodies corporate.

25 Costs where unqualified person acts as solicitor.E+W

(1)No costs in respect of anything done by any unqualified person acting as a solicitor shall be recoverable by him, or by any other person, in any action, suit or matter.

(2)Nothing in subsection (1) shall prevent the recovery of money paid or to be paid by a solicitor on behalf of a client in respect of anything done by the solicitor while acting for the client without holding a practising certificate in force if that money would have been recoverable if he had held such a certificate when so acting.

26 Time limit for commencement of certain proceedings.E+W

Notwithstanding anything in the [F18M8Magistrates’ Courts Act 1980], proceedings in respect of any offence under section 21, 22 or 23 may be brought at any time before the expiration of two years from the commission of the offence or six months from its first discovery by the prosecutor, whichever period expires first.

27 Saving for persons authorised to conduct legal proceedings.E+W

Nothing in this Part shall affect any enactment empowering an unqualified person to conduct, defend, or otherwise act in relation to any legal proceedings.