Compliance & Regulation
Defence barrister who misled court to get paid is suspended
An experienced defence barrister who joked that he would not get paid if his case was discontinued, secretly drafted and uploaded an indictment to stop that happening.
SRA bids to increase number of senior ethnic minority staff
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has announced plans to improve the number of senior ethnic minority staff, although its ethnicity pay gap is “heading in the right direction”.
SDT clears ex-Law Society president Greene after private prosecution
Leading litigator David Greene was yesterday cleared of wrongdoing by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal as the long-running saga that saw him resign as Law Society president neared an end.
Fine for solicitor who failed to register clients’ interests
A conveyancer who failed to register her clients’ interests at the Land Registry within the time limit, in breach of undertakings, has been fined £10,000 for her misconduct.
Solicitor who dishonestly confirmed witnessing signature struck off
A solicitor who dishonestly confirmed that he had witnessed a signature on a lease when he actually had not has been struck off the roll.
Inns under fire for sluggish approach to disability access
The inns of court are slow to act on behalf of disabled barristers and the Bar Standards Board is to set push them to improve access in listed buildings.
Big disparity in Bar course pass rates across providers
There is a significant attainment gap between providers of the Bar training course, ranging from a pass rate of 94% at the highest to 49% at the lowest.
“Deconstructed SQE” could be end-point test for three professions
The SQE could be deconstructed and its modules used to form the “final end-point test” for chartered legal executives and licensed conveyancers as well as solicitors.
Bar regulator faces formal LSB action over performance crisis
The LSB has begun talking about taking formal action against the BSB over shortcomings in its performance, which it has emerged include how it has dealt with the Post Office scandal.
Bar regulator counts cost of “extremely challenging year”
The Bar Standards Board has described how it “struggled” to hit timeliness targets in an “extremely challenging year” for its enforcement work.
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.
