Compliance & Regulation
SDT rejects restoration plea 21 years after strike off
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has refused to allow an immigration solicitor to be restored to the roll 21 years after he was struck off for accounts rule breaches.
SRA agrees to keep Solicitors Indemnity Fund alive with £6m undertaking
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has agreed to a request from the Solicitors Indemnity Fund to underwrite its potential liabilities in continuing to operate by providing a £6m undertaking.
LSB tells regulators to get moving with ongoing competence reform
The legal regulators have been given six months to deliver action plans to the Legal Services Board on how they are going to reform their regimes to ensure lawyers’ ongoing competence.
LSB backs huge cut in time limit for complaining to Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Services Board has, after “very extensive debate”, backed a cut in the time limit for complaining to the Legal Ombudsman from six years to only one year.
Ban for PI fee-earner who used Covid as excuse for missing deadlines
A fee-earner at Slater & Gordon who falsely claimed he had missed litigation deadlines because of scanning errors and not being in the office due to the pandemic has been banned from working in law firms.
Solicitor told trainee to draft misleading defence to barrister’s fee claim
A solicitor who told a trainee to draft an “incorrect and misleading” defence to an unpaid fees claim from a barrister – which ignored his firm’s liability for the money – has been fined £7,500.
Solicitors at incorporated firms should not give personal undertakings
Lawyers at incorporated law firms should not give personal undertakings even though the corporate undertakings are not enforceable, the Law Society has said.
Solicitor who considered herself “beyond regulation” is struck off
A solicitor who made false and misleading statements on applications for professional indemnity insurance has been struck off and ordered to pay costs of over £124,000.
Regulator threatens legal action over CILEX talks with SRA
CILEx Regulation could take legal action following the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ announcement that it is talking to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about becoming its regulator.
Legal Ombudsman on track to halve backlog by March 2023
The Legal Ombudsman is on course to meet its goal of halving the backlog of cases waiting for investigation by March 2023, with its output increasing significantly, the chief ombudsman has said.
Blog
Awaab’s Law phase 2: New hazards council tenants can now claim for
The conversation on housing disrepair is moving beyond damp and mould alone. With the rollout of phase 2 of Awaab’s Law, the scope of issues covered is expanding significantly,
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.
