Compliance & Regulation
Law firm finance head lied about fraud conviction to get job
A law firm employed a head of finance who concealed the fact that he had been jailed in Ireland for defrauding his previous employer.
Regulator to widen powers for interim suspensions of barristers
The Bar Standards Board to press ahead with new powers for interim suspensions where necessary to protect the public or the public interest.
High Court: Mirror’s legal department knew about hacking for years
The legal department at Mirror Group Newspapers was aware of phone hacking far earlier than it admitted, the High Court found last week in the claim brought by Prince Harry.
SDT urges solicitors to be open with clients after suspending partner
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has urged solicitors under work pressures to “be open with their clients when problems arise” after suspending a “cavalier” partner.
Deferring point of call for barristers “could improve social mobility”
Delaying the point at which barristers are called to the Bar until after obtaining pupillage could improve social mobility if it reduces the number of overseas students and “less able domestic students”.
Solicitor struck off for undervaluing claim and then fabricating form
A solicitor who submitted a claim form for far less than the case was worth, in order to avoid paying a large court fee, and later fabricated it to show a higher value, has been struck off.
Senior solicitor who slapped young paralegal’s backside suspended
An experienced male solicitor found to have inappropriately touched a 21-year-old female paralegal, including slapping her backside, has been suspended for a year.
LSB prepares for “regular” investigations into regulators
The Legal Services Board plans to increase its “capacity and capability” to launch investigations into, and reviews of, the frontline regulators “on a regular basis”.
SRA: Profession making progress on diversity – especially at small firms
There is a “slow but steady increase in diversity among all lawyers”, the Solicitors Regulation Authority reported yesterday in its biennial collection of the profession’s diversity data.
SRA shelves accounts rules changes in wake of Axiom Ince
The SRA has postponed changes it was set to make to the accounts rules – including how money taken for costs in advance of work being done is dealt with – in light of the Axiom Ince scandal.
Blog
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
Recruitment, retention and reward in the legal accounts world
Understanding the legal finance market is important – not just for those actively involved in it day-to-day but also for leaders within law firms.
