The Professional Conduct Committee is still regularly seeing complaints that solicitors have breached s.61 of the Act.
Regulation are quite clear.
So, either we have a lot of solicitors who are prepared to ignore the rules or, the way the legislation works has not been properly explained to the profession. An authority is an instruction to a solicitor from a person on whose behalf the solicitor receives money, compliance with which is optional or permissible. A direction is ideally clear, specific and in writing. A direction may be constructive , but not, I think, implied. Please let me have your cheque in this amount within 7 days'.