Compliance & Regulation
SDT clears Dentons of anti-money laundering rule breaches
Dentons, the world’s largest law firm, was yesterday cleared by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
Motor trade legal advice service launches CIC to handle litigation
An unregulated legal advice service for the motor trade has created a community interest company (CIC) so that it can provide litigation services as well.
SRA tells employers what they cannot ask in-house lawyers to do
Draft guidance for employers of in-house solicitors, which aims to establish a mutual understanding of what lawyers can and cannot do, has been published by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Post Office victim and SRA chief urge lawyers to call out colleagues
Both a sub-postmaster victim of the Post Office scandal and the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority have urged lawyers to call out colleagues’ improper behaviour.
SRA investigates after-the-event insurance fall-out from SSB collapse
The SRA is investigating why after-the-event insurers have not paid out on policies arranged by the collapsed SSB Group and whether it shows a wider problem with ATE.
Firms reported for oppressive “pre-emptive” NDAs imposed on actors
Law firms at the heart of forcing oppressive non-disclosure agreements on actors have been reported to the Solicitors Regulation Authority, it emerged yesterday.
SRA issues fines exceeding £55,000 for AML compliance breaches
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has handed out more than £55,000 in fines to firms and individual lawyers for breaches of anti-money laundering requirements.
Bar Council warns regulator over plans for chambers
The Bar Council has warned the Bar Standards Board not to go too far in its oversight of chambers and said its idea of encouraging smaller sets to merge is “inappropriate”.
Management consultant to take helm of Legal Services Consumer Panel
A management consultant with significant retail and healthcare experience has been named as the new chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
Rush to meet end of SDLT holiday caused solicitor to let down client
A conveyancer who forgot to put in place a declaration of trust on the ownership of a property in the rush to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline in 2021 has been rebuked.
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
Associates
