A vain search

There is a hiatus in the powers of investigation and adjudication of the Law Society and the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). One searches text books and websites in vain for express written procedural powers: for an SRA caseworker to investigate an initial complaint; to require a solicitor to respond to a complaint; to impose time limits for a response; to refer the response to the complainant; to ask the solicitor written questions; to refer the initial papers to an adjudication panel; to arrange for an adjudication panel to convene; or even to regulate the meetings of adjudication panels. The criteria by which the adjudication panel decides whether or not to refer a solicitor to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) are also unclear, as is how the information and documentation placed before the panel are regulated. We are also left in the dark about how and when the panel should consider a complaint raised by the society rather than one raised by a client.