Compliance & Regulation
SRA sanctioned for wrongly publishing trainee’s ban
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been sanctioned in costs after prematurely stating that it had banned a former trainee solicitor from working for law firms.
BSB performance in the red as LSB raises SRA enforcement concerns
Pressure on the Bar Standards Board to improve its performance ratcheted up today after it scored by far the worst of all the legal regulators in the Legal Services Board’s annual assessment.
Solicitor fined for handling follow-on property management work
A retired solicitor has been fined £7,500 for using client accounts as banking facilities over decades to handle property management work for Arab clients.
US lawyer urged clients to infect opposing counsel with “nasty disease”
A US lawyer advised his clients to have someone with Covid or another “highly infectious, nasty disease” lick and handle an envelope being sent to opposing counsel, it has emerged.
New Bar chair calls on Ministry of Justice to review LSB
The new chair of the Bar Council has called on the Ministry of Justice to review the Legal Services Board, prompting a tart response from the oversight regulator.
Legal regulators “need to work on building trust” with their communities
Legal regulators can reduce the amount of enforcement work they need to undertake if they can build enough trust that lawyers will approach them before things go wrong, an event has heard.
SRA hires competition specialist to drive strategy
A competition specialist is to join the Solicitors Regulation Authority as its new executive director for strategy and innovation, while the LSB’s policy chief is leaving to oversee bailiffs.
Solicitor shifted client money around to cover mistakes
A partner who used client funds to make payments for other clients – on occasion to hide the fact that they had been made subject to costs orders – has been struck off.
SRA can enforce costs order against solicitor struck off in 2010
The Solicitors Regulation Authority can finally enforce a £15,000 costs order against a struck-off solicitor more than 12 years after it was made, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled.
Solicitor agrees to quit roll until 2030 over report on title dishonesty
A solicitor who dishonestly amended a report on title to correct an error she had made more than two years earlier has agreed to remove herself from the roll until 2030 at the earliest.
Blog
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
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.
