Compliance & Regulation
SRA steps up pressure on immigration firms with new warning notice
The SRA has today ratcheted up the pressure on immigration firms, with a warning notice reminding them not to be “complicit in providing false or fabricated” information.
Fee-earner who favoured one client over another fails to lift ban
A non-solicitor fee-earner banned from working for law firms after favouring the interests of a woman who suffered from Alzheimer’s over her mentally ill husband has failed to overturn it.
Jail for lottery scam ex-solicitor who stole £2m of client money
A solicitor struck off for plundering £2m from his firm’s client accounts as well as trusts after falling victim to a lottery scam has been jailed for four years.
Solicitor to face SDT over “misleading” Covid threats to schools and GPs
A solicitor accused of sending misleading threats to schools and GP surgeries over Covid vaccinations for children is to face the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
SRA: Firms must be held accountable for progress on diversity
Law firms need to be held accountable over efforts to improve the profession’s equality, diversity and inclusion, the chief executive of the SRA said yesterday.
Using the right tech “should be a competence requirement”
Being able to apply the right technology tool to service clients should become a competence requirement for lawyers, the former head of LawtechUK has suggested.
“Manifestly incompetent” solicitor did not tell SRA when firm went bust
A solicitor who admitted “manifest incompetence” and that he was “a poor manager”, failing to disclose that his firm was in financial difficulty, has been suspended for 18 months.
Axiom Ince “has enough assets” to meet claims for missing millions
Axiom Ince should have sufficient assets to meet the claims for the millions in missing money, a lawyer for its global chief executive has said.
IT worker used firm email in bid to influence coroner
An IT support worker at a major London law firm who sought to influence a coroner by sending misleading emails using his work account has been banned from the profession.
Size and amount of property work “main drivers” of PII premiums
Smaller law firms and practices that mainly operate in conveyancing pay twice the level of professional indemnity insurance premium of others, new research has shown.
Blog
Client account interest is not spare change
The proposed Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts scheme is being framed as a sensible, international, “tried and tested” way for the profession to help fund a justice system under strain.
The formula for finance-enabled business development
Client concentration or over-dependence now counts as a top strategic risk for 26% of firms. Cross-selling is an antidote – a way to bolster revenue resilience without relying on client acquisition.
Whistleblowing guidance for in-house lawyers – a call to arms
In-house lawyers are in a unique position to spot wrongdoing. But reporting it is not just potentially dangerous from a personal point of view.
