Compliance & Regulation
Police inspector fired for abusive tweets aimed at feminist barrister
Dr Charlotte Proudman has welcomed the dismissal of a police inspector who sent her and other women abusive tweets – and contrasted the action with the approach of the Bar Standards Board.
Barrister who halved suspension on appeal refused costs against BSB
The High Court has refused to order costs in favour of a barrister who successfully reduced the suspension imposed on him for recklessly misleading the Court of Appeal.
MPs urged to support review of Legal Services Board
MPs were last week asked to support a review of the Legal Services Board after the chair of the Bar Council said the oversight regulator had refused to agree to one.
Court refuses to unfreeze struck-off solicitor’s ‘client account’
A struck-off solicitor still advising clients on legal matters has failed to obtain an injunction to compel a bank to unfreeze his account over questionable payments he received from abroad.
Fine for solicitor who acted for both property developer and investor
A solicitor who acted for a property investment company and an investor has been fined just over £9,000 for breaking conflict of interest rules.
“Reckless in the extreme” law firm directors struck off
Two law firm directors who used nearly £650,000 in legal aid disbursement payments to prop up their firm, before it went bust owing other creditors a further £1.1m, have been struck off.
Suspended sentence for solicitor who tipped off client about SFO probe
The first solicitor ever prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office for ‘tipping off’ a client about a money laundering investigation has been handed a suspended prison sentence.
Nearly half of Bar students now from ethnic minority backgrounds
Nearly half of UK students on the Bar training course are now from ethnic minority backgrounds, compared to a quarter a decade ago, according to new figures.
Some lawyers’ conduct poses “significant risk to the rule of law”
Lawyers can sometimes be “too inclined” to act unethically or use a “mistaken” adherence to an overly narrow view of the rule of law to justify questionable conduct, major new research has said.
Axiom Ince: SRA receives £33m in client claims but no in-year call for funds
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided against making an unprecedented mid-year call on the profession to bolster its Compensation Fund in wake of Axiom Ince’s collapse.
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.
