The November Meeting Group of large firms is thinking of opening a second legal front in its battle with the Law Society over the latter's monopoly of the profession's indemnity insurance.
The pivotal role played by four members of the Solicitors' Indemnity Fund (SIF) board in last week's narrow 32 to 29 council decision to maintain its insurance strangle hold could be grounds for a legal challenge, said the group's chairman Christopher Hales.
Had they not cast their ballots, the result would have been 29 to 28 in favour of scrapping the mutual scheme, setting up a master insurance policy and allowing firms to choose between it and other approved insurers.
Although it did not specifically demand that the board members abstain, the group has "questioned whether it is right for members [of the council] who have a vested interest to vote," Hales said. "If it had been a truly objective vote it wouldn't have started off with four votes in favour of the SIF before the ballot."
Of the 14 council members who did not attend the meeting last Tuesday (2 March), four sent their apologies because their firms do work for the SIF so they would have had a conflict of interest. "I don't really see the difference between council members whose firms are on the SIF panel and members who are on its board," Hales added.
The possibility of a challenge could be raised as early as 23 March, when the November Group meets to decide whether to pursue its call for a judicial review of the SIF monopoly.
The Law Society said it sought legal advice before the vote, which suggested that the four -chairman Peter Williamson, Paul Venton, George Staple, and Angus Andrew – could participate because they were representatives of the council on the board and not vice versa.
Venton, the board's vice chairman, dismissed Hales' complaint that he and his colleagues should not have voted.
"I am there to represent the interests of solicitors and the council of the Law Society. If he takes the view that I and my fellow board members are dishonourable that's utterly regrettable."