LAW FIRM CLIENT MONEY

The client account feels safe. That's the problem.

Most law firms treat holding client money as the conservative choice. The SRA's own enforcement record suggests otherwise. Shieldpay is a different way to think about it.

FCA regulated £21bn+ securely processed Trusted by 40+ Top 100 UK law firms

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The problem with client accounts

The client account model carries risks that most firms have simply stopped questioning.

Every day a firm holds client money in its own name, it is taking on operational, regulatory, and financial exposure that the SRA's own rules now allow it to transfer elsewhere. Here is what that exposure looks like in practice

Personal regulatory exposure

As COFA or Head of Risk, you carry personal accountability for fund safeguarding failures, even when the root cause is operational, not intentional.

The accountant's report overhead

£3,000 to £10,000+ in external fees every year, plus the internal preparation time. From 2027, mandatory direct submission to the SRA with fixed penalties if late.

APP fraud and bank detail interception

Law firms are among the highest-value targets for payment diversion fraud. The client account sits at the centre of that risk, every transaction.

Reconciliation burden

A five-weekly three-way reconciliation is a regulatory requirement, not a choice. For most firms it means a dedicated accounts team and a known source of error.

Insolvency exposure

Client money held inside the firm is exposed if the firm runs into financial difficulty. The Axiom Ince collapse, a £64m shortfall in October 2023, is the clearest recent illustration.

Administrative drag on fee-earning time

Your accounts team, your solicitors, and often your COFA spend non-billable hours managing payment administration that shouldn't sit with the firm at all.

You're not looking to reinvent how your firm works.

You want to provide the payments service your clients expect. You need to safeguard their money for transactions. And you'd rather not spend half your week on reconciliations, accountant's reports, and fraud controls that sit far outside your core work.

The question isn't whether your firm has been doing something wrong. Every firm running a client account is operating exactly as the model was designed. The question is whether the model itself still makes sense when the SRA has formally recognised a better alternative.

Every day that the traditional client account is the default, your firm is rolling the dice on fraud, human error, regulatory exposure, and administrative cost. Not because anyone made a bad decision, but because no one has asked whether it has to be this way.

It doesn't.

In 2019, the SRA built an exit from the client account into the rules. Most firms still haven't found it.

Rule 11.1 of the SRA Accounts Rules 2019 formally recognises Third-Party Managed Accounts as a compliant alternative to the traditional client account. This is not a workaround or a grey area. It is a route the regulator wrote into the rules specifically because it recognised the risks inherent in holding client money.

Funds held by an FCA-regulated TPMA provider are excluded from the annual accountant's report requirement. The safeguarding burden transfers to the provider. The firm retains complete control over when and how funds move.

HOW SHIELDPAY WORKS

Verify. Hold. Disburse.

Three steps. Full control remains with your team throughout.

Verify

Parties are onboarded quickly with integrated KYC, AML screening, and Confirmation of Payee checks. Team permissions are set at matter level from day one.

Hold

Client funds sit in ring-fenced, safeguarded accounts with Citi and ClearBank, completely separate from Shieldpay's own balance sheet. FCA-regulated throughout.

Disburse

Your team authorises every release. Shieldpay executes via Faster Payments, CHAPS, SEPA, or SWIFT, with automated reconciliation and a complete audit trail.

Row label	Traditional client account	Shieldpay Payment Account
Who holds the funds	The law firm, in its own name	Shieldpay, in ring-fenced safeguarded accounts with Citi and ClearBank
Annual accountant's report	Required. Typically £3,000 to £10,000+ per year. From 2027, mandatory direct SRA submission with fixed penalties.	Not required for Shieldpay-held funds under Rule 11.1 SRA Accounts Rules 2019.
Regulatory burden	Firm carries full safeguarding responsibility	Safeguarding burden transfers to Shieldpay as FCA-regulated holder
Fraud protection	Standard bank security	Confirmation of Payee on every outbound payment, real-time transaction monitoring, matter-level alerts
Reconciliation	Manual three-way reconciliation at least every five weeks. A known source of error.	Automated and real-time, with matter-level mirror ledgers and full audit trails
Insolvency protection	Client money at risk if firm encounters financial difficulty	Funds ring-fenced and safeguarded, separate from Shieldpay's own balance sheet
Visibility and reporting	Depends on internal systems	24/7 portal, custom reporting by matter, date, or client, complete audit trail
Setup time	Weeks to months	3 to 5 business days

TRUSTED BY THE FIRMS THAT SET THE STANDARD

Already the choice of 40+ UK top-100 law firms.

From group litigation to M&A completions, conveyancing to cross-border distributions.

40+

of the UK's top 100 law firms trust Shieldpay to hold and disburse client funds

£21.1bn

in transactions processed across conveyancing, litigation, M&A, and private client work

3–5 days

from first conversation to live, including onboarding, KYC, and workflow configuration

NO COMMITMENT REQUIRED

See if it makes sense for your firm.

We know you're not looking to reinvent how your firm works. You want to serve your clients well, protect their money, and stop spending non-billable hours on administration that shouldn't sit with the firm at all. A 30-minute conversation will tell you whether Shieldpay makes sense for your matters. No sales deck. No pressure.