Compliance & Regulation
Big fine for firm that failed to replace client money wrongly paid out
A Norwich law firm has been fined £121,000 for failing for eight years to replace client money which it had wrongly paid out to beneficiaries of an estate.
Firm found guilty of multiple failures in financial mis-selling claims
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided not to enforce at £65,000 fine it has issued against a financial mis-selling law firm because it is in liquidation.
Exclusive: Allow courts to fine lawyers who bring SLAPPs, says Browder
The courts should have the power to issue big fines for law firms that bring SLAPPs, global anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder has told Legal Futures.
High Court rejects SRA appeal against £75,000 costs order
The High Court has rejected the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s appeal against a £75,000 costs order made after its failed prosecution of a solicitor.
Barrister disbarred for making false allegations about colleague
A barrister who made false allegations of homophobia, harassment and discrimination against a colleague while both worked at a leading law firm has been disbarred.
MPs welcome SSB victims to Parliament as campaign steps up
Eight MPs met with victims of defunct Sheffield law firm SSB Group this week as pressure on both the government and the Solicitors Regulation Authority ramped up.
Law firms’ complaints records to be published in improvement push
Law firms’ performance in handling clients’ complaints should be published to improve transparency, the Legal Services Board has told the frontline regulators.
Solicitor fined for client loan is fined again for misleading SDT
A solicitor fined £20,000 five years ago by the SDT for loaning a client money at 60% APR, has been fined a further £30,000 for misleading the tribunal about other loans.
SRA’s plans for CILEX paralegals “risk to reputation of solicitors”
Plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to regulate CILEX paralegals are a risk to the “reputation of the solicitor profession” and unnecessary, the Law Society has argued.
Solicitor struck off for role in husband’s unlicensed medicines crimes
A solicitor caught up in her husband’s supply of unauthorised medicines and controlled drugs, as well as money laundering, has been struck off.
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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