Compliance & Regulation
MPs urge SRA to speed up investigation into SSB collapse
The Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to speed up its investigation into the collapse of Sheffield law firm SSB Law, MPs said this week, with one calling out “dodgy” solicitors.
Legal Services Board adds £1.75m to levy on legal profession
The Legal Services Board is set to trim back the increase in its budget for the coming year to 10%, while also approving a 7% rise in the Legal Ombudsman’s budget.
MPs’ support for Legal Services Act review divides opinion
MPs’ backing for a review of legal regulation has split opinion in the market, pitching the Legal Services Consumer Panel and Professor Stephen Mayson against the Law Society.
SRA fines “unfair” and “schizophrenic”, solicitors argue
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s approach to fines has been branded unfair and “schizophrenic” in the wake of hefty penalties handed out to solicitors convicted of drink-driving.
Ex-solicitor struck off for bribes fails in bid to return to profession
A former solicitor struck off after being jailed for five years for perverting the course of justice has failed in his attempt to return to the profession.
MPs: Case to review Legal Services Act “growing stronger and stronger”
The case for re-examining the regulatory framework created by the Legal Services Act 2007 is “growing stronger and stronger”, MPs have told the government.
Miller: Who lawyers decide to act for is not a regulatory issue
Who lawyers choose to act for is not a regulatory issue – and the Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to be clear on this, a leading legal regulatory specialist said yesterday.
Prove you will practise here, BSB to tell transferring overseas lawyers
The Bar Standards Board could ask foreign lawyers seeking to be called in England and Wales to prove they intend to practise here, it has emerged.
SRA sets out plans to regulate CILEX paralegals and students
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has outlined its plans to regulate the thousands of Chartered Institute of Legal Executives members who are paralegals and students.
Newly qualified solicitor struck off for false time recording
A newly qualified solicitor who “falsely recorded time across a number of files” to show his law firm that he was meeting his billing target has been struck off.
Blog
The new metrics for success in conveyancing
While technology has made much of the conveyancing process faster, there remains a practical limit to how many matters anyone can manage while still keeping standards intact.
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.
Reports
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