SRA has shut down London-headquartered Solicitors firm
SRA announces the closing down of Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited, the head office of which is based in John Street, London.
This closure, called intervention, has taken place into the firm Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited and the practice of sole director John Blavo. The practising certificate of John Blavo has been automatically suspended, so he cannot practise as a solicitor.
The reasons for intervention are:
- There is reason to suspect dishonesty of the part of a manager or employee of Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited
- There is reason to suspect dishonesty on the part of John Blavo in connection with his practice
- To protect the interests of clients of Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited
SRA reports that:
“An intervention means we have closed a firm with immediate effect. We will stop the firm from operating, take possession of all documents and papers held by the firm (including clients’ papers), and take possession of all money held by the firm (including clients’ money).
We are not responsible towards employees or trade creditors of firms that we have intervened in. Decisions to intervene are made by our independent panel of adjudicators.
Solicitors have the right to challenge intervention into their firm. The closure would only be lifted if such a challenge was successful.
We have appointed agents to deal with all matters currently held by Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited. The agents will assess all on-going matters and deal with those of greatest need first. Our archive team will take control of all documents held by the firm. Clients of Blavo & Co Solicitors Limited do not need to contact either the agent or the SRA at this time, but if they have any concerns they can contact the relevant agent.
At this stage of our work, no further details can be disclosed. It is only if disciplinary proceedings become necessary that any information is released into the public domain. We will now complete its investigation and decide on the appropriate course of action. There is no set timescale for how long this work will take as it will depend on several factors, including the complexity of the issues.”
Source: SRA
