Practising fee cut as Law Society reports surplus
The solicitors’ practising certificate fee could be reduced by more than 15% next year, after the Law Society accounts recorded a £56.9m surplus in its annual report.
Unveiling the report, Des Hudson, chief executive of the Law Society, said the Law Society intended to continue reducing its costs in the coming years.
“One of our key targets is to remove from the profession the burden and risk of the Society’s final salary pension scheme,” he said.
“We are in advanced talks with the trustees of the scheme that, if agreed, may result in the closure to future accrual of the scheme and it being wound up. This would require a significant one-off payment in 2011 the cost of which can in part be met because of the 2010 surplus.”
The surplus is due to four factors: higher than expected receipts from the first year of the operation of Fairer Fees; the exercise of a profit share agreement under the contract of re-assurance set up when the Solicitors Indemnity Fund closed in 2000; an under-spend against last year’s budget due to reduced costs of £15m and higher income of £5m; and a technical revaluation of the pension scheme driven by accounting standards, which saved £10m.
