Compliance & Regulation
Lawyer jailed after defying order to hand over firm’s files to SRA
A lawyer has been jailed for 13 months after showing a “brazen disregard” for his regulator by failing to hand over his firm’s files to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Partners fined for letting non-lawyer take control of group litigation
Two partners in a former City law firm have each been fined £7,500 for allowing a non-lawyer to have sole and unsupervised conduct of multi-jurisdictional group litigation involving 1,500 clients.
Lawyers hits back at attacks by international bodies on privilege
Multiple international bodies are seeking to undermine both legal professional privilege and the independent regulation of the profession, a global lawyers group has warned.
Solicitor struck off for taking advantage of elderly client
A solicitor who attempted to sell an elderly client’s house to her own civil partner at an undervalue, and was the sole beneficiary of the client’s will that she drafted, has been struck off.
MoJ threatened with fine over huge data request backlog
The Information Commissioner has threatened to fine the Ministry of Justice if it fails to deal with thousands of outstanding subject access requests.
Barrister disbarred for false judicial review promise
A non-practising barrister has been disbarred for dishonesty, after falsely persuading a client he would bring judicial review proceedings.
Solicitor who “accidentally bought run-off cover” struck off
The solicitor at the centre of a collapsed dishonesty prosecution in 2019 has been struck off for dishonesty after a second prosecution for new offences, including practising without insurance.
Conveyancers might be forced to buy cyber-insurance in PII rejig
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has mooted requiring law firms to purchase standalone cyber-insurance as “evolving forms of cyber-risk” become more complex.
City firm boss and general counsel join slimmed-down SRA board
A heavyweight City solicitor and leading Welsh in-house lawyer have been named as new members of what is now the smallest-ever board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Struck-off solicitor accuses SDT of Islamophobia in bid to return to profession
An ex-solicitor who accused the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal of Islamophobia for not having Muslim panel members when striking him off in 2019 has failed in his application to be restored to the roll.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
