Compliance & Regulation
Lawyers “underestimate public appetite” for using technology
Lawyers underestimate the public’s appetite for using technology in the delivery of legal services, a major study by the Legal Services Board and Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Solicitor who did not understand her firm’s accounts suspended
A solicitor who told the Solicitors Regulation Authority that she had “fucked up” her law firm’s accounts has been suspended for six months by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Government to keep lawyers out of Russia services ban
The government has indicated that legal services will not be added to the ban on services exports to Russia that encompasses accountancy, management consultancy and PR.
PI claims leaving some clients worse off, Legal Ombudsman warns
Some “moderate” personal injury claims are leaving clients worse off than they were before because solicitors are failing to consider the costs and benefits, the Legal Ombudsman has said.
Court refuses judicial review of SRA and LAA over control order
A non-solicitor has failed in his attempt to judicially review a control order imposed on him by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and the Legal Aid Agency’s refusal to fund a tribunal challenge to it.
Tribunal strikes off solicitor jailed for property fraud
A solicitor jailed for conspiracy to commit property frauds has now been struck off, while issuing a statement from prison that he would maintain his innocence “until my demise”.
“Long haul to recover” – BSB counts cost of cyber-attack
A malicious cyber-attack on the Bar Standards Board a month ago – for the fourth time in a year – has proved “catastrophic” for the regulator, a meeting of its governing board heard yesterday.
Supreme Court maintains SRA costs protection for failed prosecutions
The Supreme Court has upheld the principle that costs should only be awarded against the Solicitors Regulation Authority in unsuccessful prosecutions where there is good reason to do so.
Rebuke for partner who took trainee to strip club
A male City partner who added to a female trainee’s discomfort at being taken to a strip club during a work event by putting his arm around her waist has been rebuked.
Solicitor used firm’s client account to administer family finances
A veteran solicitor has been fined for administering her family’s finances through her firm’s client account over 18 years and using it “as an overdraft facility for her family”.
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.
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