Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor jailed for contempt after defying SRA court orders
A high-profile solicitor has been jailed for contempt of court after defying two court orders to hand over her practice’s files to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Junior solicitor at SRA’s lawyers struck off for misleading client
A solicitor at Capsticks, the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s external lawyers, has been struck off for lying to a client and the firm about progress on a file.
In-house lawyer struck off after child pornography conviction
A former in-house solicitor at NatWest has been struck off for child pornography convictions after he was found by police with 15,000 indecent images and videos.
CILEX member permanently excluded after fraud convictions
A member of CILEX has been permanently excluded from the institute following her convictions for fraud and providing unqualified immigration advice.
LPC pass rate holds up despite pandemic
The pass rate for legal practice course students was virtually unchanged for the academic year ending in the summer of 2020 despite the pandemic, new figures have shown.
Mishcon de Reya hit with big fine for anti-money laundering failures
Mishcon De Reya – the leading London firm heading for a stock market listing this year – has agreed to pay a fine of £232,500 over multiple breaches of anti-money laundering rules.
Bar Standards Board lacks “capability, capacity and resources”
The Bar Standards Board lacks access to “sufficient capability, capacity and resources”, the Legal Services Board said yesterday in its annual review of all the legal regulators’ performance.
Scottish ABSs to go live with professional majority ownership – for now
The Law Society of Scotland has been authorised to regulate licensed legal services providers, the equivalent of ABSs, more than 10 years after the law allowing for them came into force.
BTAS beefs up sanctions for sexual misconduct further still
The Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service has gone a step further in toughening up its sanctions guidance for barristers found to have been involved in sexual misconduct and discrimination.
Consumer panel “uncertain” over future of Legal Ombudsman
The Legal Services Consumer Panel is “uncertain” whether radical measures being considered by the Legal Ombudsman to cut its backlog of complaints will deliver sufficient change.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
