Compliance & Regulation
SDT releases Ecohouse documents to campaign group
The Transparency Task Force has been granted access to a limited number of documents used in Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearings relating to a collapsed Brazilian property investment scheme.
Bar students need more pupillage data to avoid “buyer’s remorse”
Bar students should be given detailed information from chambers about their pupillage criteria to avoid suffering from “buyer’s remorse” when they realise how difficult it is to succeed.
SRA sends police money laundering reports linked to £180m of funds
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has almost quadrupled the number of suspicious activity reports it sends to the police about possible money laundering by law firms.
Unbundled family law service to expand as SRA eyes pilot
A pilot version of an unbundled family law service for litigants in person has enabled them to save 70% on legal fees and is to be expanded; meanwhile, the SRA is to run its own unbundling pilot.
High Court rejects appeal from sham marriages solicitor
The High Court has rejected an appeal from a solicitor struck off after being recorded by an undercover TV reporter giving advice on what he knew was a sham marriage.
London law firm launches novel association with Italian MDP
An English law firm and an Italian multi-disciplinary practice offering accounting, tax and unreserved legal services have formed a novel association to assist each other’s clients.
New ABS regulator grants first licence to lifetime planning business
CILEx Regulation has become the sixth body to license an alternative business structure after approving an application from lifetime planning and bereavement firm Trust Inheritance.
Students used by law firm for agency advocacy are ‘workers’
A Bar student who handled agency advocacy work through a law firm was a worker with certain rights and not self-employed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Jail sentence for barrister guilty of child sex offences
A barrister who travelled across the country with the intention of sexually abusing teenage girls – unaware that they were not real – has been jailed for three and a half years.
Nearly 1,200 students sign up to first SQE sitting
Nearly 1,200 people have signed up to take the first ever Solicitors Qualifying Examination assessment in November, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.
Blog
The rise of cyber-criminal threat for law firms since Covid-19
The global coronavirus pandemic, and the rise in people working from home, has unfortunately provoked a growth in cyber-crime. The UK government estimates that the cost of cyber-crime is £27bn per annum.
How to ensure your ATE cover is adequate security for costs
When does an after-the-event insurance policy provide adequate security for a defendant’s costs? The short answer is that it very much depends on the wording of the particular policy.
Hybrid working – A rise or fall in future claims?
Official figures showed that, between 2012 and 2017, employees who mainly worked from home were less than half as likely to be promoted than all other workers.
Reports
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