Compliance & Regulation
Government “awareness programmes” needed to boost LEI
The government should run “awareness programmes” to educate the public about the benefits of legal expenses insurance, the Association of Consumer Support Organisations has argued.
Price transparency “unlikely to inform decisions”
The emphasis put on price transparency and comparison shopping by the Competition and Markets Authority and adopted by legal regulators, is unlikely to make much difference.
SDT finds City lawyer guilty over obsession with teenage colleague
A City lawyer who shared intimate pictures with a teenage apprentice and ogled her as she spread her legs in a swivel chair in the office was found guilty of multiple charges of misconduct last week.
SRA “spent three years deciding not to take regulatory action”
It took the Solicitors Regulation Authority three years to decide not to take regulatory action against a solicitor, it has emerged.
Cost of practising to rise sharply as SRA and Law Society unveil budgets
Solicitors’ practising fees are set to increase substantially this year, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Law Society needing an extra £9.3m to fund their work.
Partner was “blinded” by desire to keep best client
A solicitor who described a property developer currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office as his law firm’s “best client” has been fined £45,000 for misconduct.
Former solicitor with unpaid SDT fine cannot return to profession
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled that a struck-off solicitor, who had still not paid £2,700 of a fine it imposed for a previous offence in 2011, cannot return to the profession.
Jailed solicitor’s fraud has cost profession £2.7m so far
The SRA Compensation Fund has paid out over £2.7m to clients of the law firm operated by Christopher Michael Bilmes, a solicitor jailed for fraud last month.
Male partner fined £23k for lewd song directed at female trainee
A male partner who sang a song about a trainee solicitor’s vagina, accompanied by lewd gestures, at a Christmas party gathering in a pub has been fined £23,000.
Post Office scandal highlights risk of lawyers “absorbing client’s view”
The Post Office scandal highlights the dangers of lawyers absorbing and reflecting back their client’s view “without sufficient independence and critical detachment”.
Blog
Why this is the year for law firms to embrace generative AI
After more than a year of pilots, proofs of value and early experimentation, firms are increasingly embedding AI into day-to-day workflows.
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.
