Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor struck off for misusing client money and unauthorised practice
A veteran solicitor who used client money to alleviate his firm’s financial problems and also misled his insurer that he was authorised to practise when he no longer was, has been struck off.
Shiner faces two-year wait for trial on cold-calling fraud charges
Disgraced human rights lawyer Phil Shiner will have to wait nearly two years for his trial on four allegations of fraud, the Crown Court said on Friday.
“Old school” solicitor used £500,000 of client money to prop up firm
An “old school” solicitor in his late 70s who overcharged three estates and a trust by nearly £500,000 to provide cash flow for his firm has been struck off.
Solicitors to foot £1.2m bill for relocating disciplinary tribunal
Solicitors are to pay an extra £1.2m towards the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in 2023 after its existing landlord pulled the offer of a new lease, meaning it will have to relocate.
Solicitors sanctioned after drugs and dangerous driving convictions
A solicitor who was convicted of drug-driving and possession of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis has been fined £10,000, while another has been rebuked after being convicted of dangerous driving.
Fine for law firm that acted on both sides of development agreement
A law firm that at different times acted for either side of a development agreement it drafted, including on a dispute between the two parties, has been fined by the SRA.
Legal Services Act with us for “one or two decades” more, LSB chief says
It is “highly over-optimistic” to think the Legal Services Act will be reformed or replaced by the government in the next couple of years, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board has warned.
High Court rejects struck-off solicitor’s bid to return to roll
The High Court has rejected an appeal from a struck-off solicitor whose application to be restored to the roll was refused by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal earlier this year.
“Honorable” solicitor and practice manager fined for misusing legal aid cash
A law firm owner and his practice manager have both been fined for mismanaging legal aid funds, although a tribunal found they were “honourably motivated”.
Solicitors “coercing” hospital patients into signing legal papers
Solicitors have been accused of visiting vulnerable patients in hospital wards in Leeds and “coercing” them into signing legal documents.
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
Associates
