Compliance & Regulation
Barrister reprimanded for “grossly offensive” messages to ex-partner
A barrister who sent “grossly offensive” private Instagram messages to his former partner following the breakdown of a “toxic” relationship has been reprimanded by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.
Tribunal refuses to downplay “romantic” misconduct of prosecutor
A prosecuting barrister suspended for “unwanted behaviour of a sexual nature” towards a “very vulnerable” female defendant acted intentionally rather than recklessly, a tribunal has ruled.
Lack of evidence for CILEX to switch regulators, consumer panel says
CILEX switching regulator to the Solicitors Regulation Authority may be a good idea but both have failed to provide the evidence to prove it, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
White law students “twice as likely to be sponsored” by employers
White students are almost twice as likely to be sponsored by a law firm through law school than Asian and Black students, major new research for the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Barrister reprimanded for drugs convictions
A barrister has been reprimanded by a Bar disciplinary tribunal, after being convicted in Malawi of attempting to export hemp to the UK.
Solicitor used LPA to steal cash from vulnerable client
A solicitor who stole cash from a vulnerable client using her debit card while acting under a lasting power of attorney has been struck off.
Solicitor persuaded vulnerable client to send him explicit photos
A solicitor who misled a vulnerable family law client into sending explicit photographs of herself to his personal mobile phone has been struck off.
Number of complaints to law firms up 20% in five years
The number of complaints received by law firms went up by about a fifth between 2019 and 2023, the SRA has found – but averages out only at four per practice.
SRA falling short on key target for progressing investigations
Efforts by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to speed up investigations are falling short of some of the targets introduced last year, it has emerged.
BSB board and staff at odds over transferring foreign lawyers
Members of the BSB clashed with senior staff last week over how to deal with the large number of foreign lawyers seeking to be called in England and Wales but who do not intend to practise here.
Blog
The UK legal market is polarising – and the middle is disappearing
Consolidation and the boutique boom are not contradictory. They are the same market stretching apart at both ends – and it changes what your firm is worth, and to whom.
Conveyancing’s consistency problem is about pressure, not skills
When I qualified, a conveyancer had perhaps 10 or 12 plates to keep spinning. Today’s conveyancers have 20 or 30, and almost none of the room for error I had starting out.
The trade-off mid-sized firm partners think they’re making
Most of the partners I talk to describe the same tension. They want the firm to run efficiently and hit its numbers, but they also want their people to feel supported, developed and fairly treated.
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