Compliance & Regulation
SRA evidence “not enough” to revive ex-managing partner’s ET claim
An employment tribunal has refused to reconsider rulings that went against a former law firm managing partner despite new evidence that undermined a key finding about his honesty.
LSB set to beef up rules on how lawyers handle complaints
Lawyers are facing beefed-up rules on dealing with complaints, and the prospect of how quickly they handle them being made public, under proposals published yesterday.
SDT grants anonymity to solicitor over drink-drive conviction
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has taken the unusual step of anonymising the identity of a solicitor appearing before it after a drink-driving conviction.
Reprimand for barrister who showed “contempt for legal process”
A barrister who made 10 meritless applications, including damages claims worth £4m against a council, and as a result was made subject to an extended civil restraint order, has been reprimanded.
BSB chief: We cannot stop review websites covering barristers
The Bar Standards Board has warned that it cannot stop the growing interest in featuring barristers on online review and comparison websites, even if the profession wants it to.
Partner rebuked for backdating documents used in divorce case
A solicitor who followed a client’s instructions to backdate a loan agreement and then did not disclose it as part of divorce proceedings has been rebuked for her “error of judgment”.
Axiom Ince stops taking new instructions as break-up looms
The end appears nigh for Axiom Ince, with the law firm admitting that it has stopped taking new instructions and will “likely be unable to continue in its current format”.
Partner lied to new firm about drink-driving convictions
A solicitor who lied to Keystone Law about drink-drive convictions as well as investigations into his conduct when he joined the listed law firm has been struck off.
Solicitor failed to spot conflict in property deals for vulnerable client
A solicitor failed to spot a conflict of interest when a vulnerable client’s attorneys bought five properties using her money but gave themselves a 50% ownership stake in each.
SRA “must look at how regulation can promote access to justice”
The SRA must explore how its work “can be used to enhance and promote access to justice”, such as by ensuring there are enough social welfare lawyers, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
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
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