The Solicitors’ Guarantee Fund (Guarantee Fund) was created and maintained under the Legal Practitioners Act 1959 (repealed) (the 1959 Act). The Guarantee Fund was wound up in 1962 by amendments to the 1959 Act. It was then re-established in 1970 and has continued since that time under subsequent versions of the legislation, with varying provisions and criteria in relation to the granting of funds.
Section 358 of the Legal Profession Act 2007 (the Act) provides for the continuation of the Guarantee Fund.
The Guarantee Fund is comprised mainly of interest generated by the monies standing to the credit of legal practitioner’s trust funds – that is, client funds being held, usually temporarily, by law firms. The Guarantee Fund does not hold government funds.