Collapsed Hartlepool Law Firm MSP Legal Services Faces High Court Winding-Up Bid

MSP Services LLP was closed in 2023 following an SRA regulatory investigation into alleged 'misuse' of client funds.

Former Hartlepool Solicitors Firm Faces Insolvency Proceedings After Regulator Shutdown

28th April 2026

A former Hartlepool solicitors firm shut down by regulators is now facing a High Court winding-up petition, adding a further chapter to the collapse of the troubled company. .

The Teesside & Durham Post understands that a petition has now been brought against MSP Legal Services LLP, which traded from Havelock House, 24 Victoria Road, Hartlepool, by International General Insurance Company (UK) Limited, who claims to be a creditor of the firm.

The matter is due to be heard at the High Court of Justice, Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, London, on Wednesday 13 May 2026 at 10.30am, or as soon afterwards as the petition can be heard.

A winding-up petition is a formal insolvency process in which a creditor asks the court to place a company or LLP into compulsory liquidation in a bid to recover the sums its owed. If granted, it can lead to the business being wound up and its affairs being dealt with by an official receiver or liquidator.

The petition follows the earlier regulatory closure of MSP Legal Services LLP by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, where its claimed the SRA intervened to close down the premises back in April 2023, with Stephensons Solicitors LLP confirming it had been appointed as the SRA’s intervention agent for the former Hartlepool firm. The intervention notice stated that MSP Legal Services LLP had been closed down and would not reopen, with client files and paperwork removed or later transferred to SRA archive arrangements.

The SRA explained that an intervention is a statutory power used to close a firm immediately in certain circumstances, with the purpose of protecting clients and the wider public.

MSP Legal Services LLP has also been linked to a number of serious disciplinary proceedings involving solicitors who practised at the firm. The SRA’s published record for Andrew Jones states that he was struck off the roll following a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearing in December 2023.

A separate SRA record for Fiona Jane Smith shows that she has been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, with regulators stating that the tribunal is satisfied that there is a case to answer in relation to allegations which include that Ms. Smith allegedly misusing client money between around August 2021 and March 2023. The published SRA notice alleges that she caused or allowed a shortage to arise on the firm’s client account and allowed inappropriate transfers to be made, in breach of the SRA Solicitors Accounts Rules. Those allegations remain unproven and are subject to a hearing before the independent tribunal which the Teesside & Durham Post understands is set to be held in just days.

The latest winding-up petition is not itself a finding of wrongdoing. It is a creditor-led insolvency application wit the court to decide whether the legal test for winding up the now defunct solicitors firm is met. Any person intending to appear at the hearing, whether to support or oppose the petition, must give notice in accordance with the insolvency rules by 4pm on Tuesday 12 May 2026.

Former clients effected by the collapse of MSP Legal Services LLP, are asked to contact Stephenson's’ Solicitors, as all files and paperwork are now held through the SRA’s archive arrangements, with document requests directed to the SRA Intervention Archive service.