Compliance & Regulation
Metamorph’s empire continues to crumble as two more firms are shut
Two more firms in the Metamorph Law group – including the one to which the caseloads of several others were being transferred – were shut down today.
Pupil sanctioned for passing off other people’s work as his own
A pupil barrister who passed off other people’s work as his own and lied about it to the head of his chambers’ pupillage committee has been told he cannot qualify for at least three years.
Solicitor “tested ethical boundaries” by asking client for loan
A solicitor “tested the ethical standards” of the profession by seeking a loan from a client to pay school fees without advising him to seek independent advice, the SDT has found.
SRA lays out first changes to STaRs since 2019 launch
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to make the first changes to its Standards and Regulations since the rules were introduced three years ago.
Panel spells out challenge of contextualising law firm transparency data
There is “no prototype” for how to contextualise transparency data about law firms for consumers, and it will not be perfect from the start, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned.
Barristers set to pay the price for BSB performance problems
The poor performance of the Bar Standards Board is set to hit barristers in the pocket as it seeks to increase salaries to overcome recruitment and retention difficulties.
Law Society attacks Legal Ombudsman over 8% staff pay rise
The Law Society has attacked plans by the Legal Ombudsman to increase pay for its staff by 8%, as part of a 9.6% increase in its budget for the next financial year.
Barrister who falsified CV to get pupillage and tenancy disbarred years later
A barrister whose applications for pupillage at one chambers and then tenancy at another were based on a false CV has been disbarred – more than a decade after he first used it.
SRA steps in to shut down four Metamorph Group businesses
The SRA today closed down four of the businesses in the Metamorph Group network, comprising 10 law firms, as they were in the process of transferring their practices to another group firm.
Fee-share corporate firm becomes community interest company
A fee-share practice has become what is thought to be the first corporate law firm to become a not-for-profit community interest company, ensuring it donates all profits to charity.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
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.
