Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor who raided client’s estate to pay debts is struck off
A solicitor who used £100,000 from a client’s estate to pay debts to HM Revenue & Customs and an indemnity insurer before closing his firm has been struck off.
PI solicitor “compromised independence” in dealings with CMC
A personal injury solicitor has been sanctioned for allowing the claims management company that supplied almost all of his work to dictate the terms of clients’ engagement with his firm.
Convicted conveyancer struck off for facilitiating mortgage fraud
A conveyancer who recklessly facilitated a mortgage fraud before being convicted of three money laundering offences and then failing to surrender to bail has been struck off.
Firm fined for secretly charging clients to repay loan
A law firm which surcharged more than 2,000 clients to help repay the loan it took out for a new case management system has been fined £30,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
High Court rejects challenge to foreign in-house lawyers’ privilege
Legal advice privilege extends to communications with foreign lawyers working in-house even if they are not recognised or regulated as “professional lawyers”, the High Court has ruled.
Solicitor used jailed client’s money to prop up firm
A criminal law solicitor who used money from a jailed client for an appeal to stabilise his firm’s “precarious financial position” has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
“Caring” solicitor undone by accounting system
A “passionate, caring and in many respects competent” solicitor, whose firm got into a financial mess in part because of the accounting software she used, has escaped removal from practice.
CMA unveils progress review of competition in legal market
The Competition and Markets Authority today announced a three-month review of the progress made in improving competition in the legal services sector for consumers and small businesses.
SRA fines leading firm for money laundering check failures
Well-known law firm Taylor Vinters has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for failing to undertake proper money laundering checks on millions of pounds paid into its client account.
Solicitor launches unregulated nanotech firm
A solicitor has launched what he believes is the first legal consultancy in the UK devoted entirely to nanotech firms, the latest to use the rules that allow solicitors to practise from unregulated firms.
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.
