Alerts

Warning: Documents misusing the name of Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP and the Solicitors Regulation Authority

4 June 2025

Documents have been sent misusing the name of Slee Blackwell LLP and the name of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

What is the scam?

The SRA has seen a document purporting to be a Legal Services Agreement and misuses the name of a genuine firm of solicitors (please see below).

The supposed agreement falsely claims to be sent from a bogus firm called 'TL Group Law Firm'. The supposed agreement provides an address of 'Emperor Way, Exeter EX1 3QS', the email address of 'support@tl-group.co' and the telephone number of '+441133308709'. It is signed by a person called Dilip Raj.

The SRA have also seen a document falsely claiming to be a Certificate of Authorisation signed by Paul Philip. The supposed certificate purports that 'Trust Legal Group LLP' is the subsidiary of Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP. The document provides the address of 'Emperor Way, Exeter EX1 3QS' and misuses the address of the genuine firm (please see below). The document also misuses the name of Paul Philip and the SRA. The document was not issued by the SRA.

The SRA do not authorise or regulate a genuine firm of solicitors called Trust Group Law LLP or Trust Legal Group LLP.

The SRA do not authorise or regulate a genuine individual called Dilip Raj.

Any business or transaction through Trust Legal Group LLP, Trust Group Law LLP or Dilip Raj, the address of Emperor Way, Exeter EX1 3QS, the email address of 'support@tl-group.co' and the telephone number of '+441133308709' are not undertaken by a firm or solicitor authorised and regulated by the SRA.

Is there a genuine firm or person?

The SRA authorises and regulates a genuine firm called Slee Blackwell Solicitors LLP with the SRA ID 00628016. Its office address is 10 Cross Street, Barnstaple, EX31 1BA.

The genuine firm has confirmed that it has no connection to the documents referred to in the above alert.

What should I do?

When a firm's or individual's identity has been copied exactly (or cloned), due diligence is necessary. If you receive correspondence claiming to be from the above firm(s) or individual(s), or information of a similar nature to that described, you should conduct your own due diligence by checking the authenticity of the correspondence by contacting the law firm directly by reliable and established means. You can contact the SRA to find out if individuals or firms are regulated and authorised by the SRA and verify an individual's or firm's practising details. Other verification methods, such as checking public records (e.g. telephone directories and company records) may be required in other circumstances.