Clients and staff in dark as law firm shuts doors

Hundreds of staff and clients at a major law firm say they are in limbo following its sudden closure.

Sheffield-based PM Law, which runs firms across Yorkshire, Cumbria and Berkshire specialising in personal injury, wills and conveyancing, shut on Monday without warning.

One customer said they had been about to complete on a flat sale when they found they could no longer contact the company, while an employee said she had been left "devastated" by the closure.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) said PM Law had "not closed in the manner we would expect" and that it would be contacting its partners to remind them of their "professional obligations". PM Law has been approached for comment.

According to its website PM Law employed more than 600 people at firms including Proddow Mackay, Butterworths Solicitors, WB Pennine Solicitors and Angela Viney Conveyancing Services.

Several employees reported turning up for work on Monday to discover a notice on the window explaining that the business could no longer trade because of "regulatory matters".

Others noticed something was amiss when they were locked out from internal systems.

One member of staff, who did not wish to be named, said there had been no explanation about what had happened or what employees were expected to do next.

"I'm devastated at the way they've treated us," she told the BBC.

"They've not given us the time. Usually in these kind of situations, where a company's going under, they generally put a plan in place. But there's nothing at all. It's just soul destroying."

The woman, who worked at the office in Shepcote Lane, Sheffield, for more than a decade, said there had been no indication of what was happening.

"We should have been going on a night out this Friday, the building was supposed to be starting refurbishment," she said.

"So, it's not just the staff and clients, [but also] contractors. The domino effect is just massive."

She has urged the company to provide guidance to people and advice on next steps.

"There's not even been an apology," she said.

"Lord knows what's happened. It's got to be something catastrophic for it to happen overnight."

Melanie Griffin, from Penistone, in South Yorkshire, said her father-in-law had been going through a complex house sale with WB Pennine Solicitors when they found out about the issues with PM Law via social media.

She said they had contacted their own solicitor to try to transfer her father‑in‑law's files away from the firm but had been unable to contact anyone at WB Pennine Solicitors.

"It's already been a bit of a stressful situation, obviously house moving and everything else," she said.

"We're just hoping for some answers."

Cinematographer Joe Hofmann said he had been left in limbo as he tried to buy a flat in Forest Hill, south east London.

The sudden closure of the company has seriously affected people's lives, he said.

"We've been thrown into it, with so much on the line," he said.

A conveyancer he had used previously had recommended PM Law, but he said recent months had seen the company fail to complete tasks and miss deadlines.

He said he was hours away from transferring a huge sum to complete the purchase of the flat, only to find he was unable to contact the solicitors.

To date, he has had no information about what happens next as he, and the property chain he is part of, wait for news.

He is also worried about all of his personal information and documents being held by PM Law.

The SRA said it had been inundated with calls about PM Law .

In a statement it said: "Butterworths/PM Law Limited has closed suddenly and not in a manner we would expect.

"We are in contact with the firm and will take appropriate action to make sure clients are protected."

It said those affected "should be updated soon" and said it was unable to provide any further information at this time.

Abandonment of a firm is rare, but the SRA does sometimes have to step in to deal with closures, known as intervention.