Compliance & Regulation
Accountants offered new route to setting up ABSs
Accountants and firms regulated by the ACCA will have a pathway to handling all the reserved activities under the plan to transfer supervision of their legal work to CILEx Regulation.
SFO charges three men over Axiom fund collapse
Two former solicitors and a former independent financial adviser have been charged with multiple offences in connection with the collapse of the Axiom Legal Financing Fund.
Struck-off solicitor’s comparison with George Floyd “a disgrace”
A struck-off solicitor’s comparison of his treatment at the hands of the Solicitors Regulation Authority with that of George Floyd by US police has been branded a “disgrace” by a tribunal.
Partner suspended over multiple money laundering failures
A partner in a law firm which acted mainly for Russian and Ukrainian clients has been suspended for nine months after admitting multiple breaches of the anti-money laundering rules.
Solicitor struck off after 40-year career – for the sake of £100
An experienced conveyancer has been struck off for falsifying the completion date of a transaction in a report to tax authorities in order to avoid a late registration penalty of £100.
Solicitor wrote cheque to himself from client account
A solicitor who was cautioned by the police for fraud after writing a cheque for £2,000 from client account to himself has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Solicitors caught in dubious schemes “fail in due diligence”
Solicitors generally fail to carry out due diligence exercises on the people behind what turn out to be dubious investment schemes, a review by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Solicitor under-declared sale prices to pocket stamp duty
A solicitor who falsified returns to HM Revenue & Customs so as to underpay stamp duty land tax and pocket the difference in a bid to keep his firm afloat has been struck off.
City solicitor suspended after second police cocaine caution
A City solicitor who received a second police caution for possessing cocaine – but failed to report it out of fear of losing his job and marriage – has been banned from practice for a year.
LSB demands greater transparency on practising fees
Legal regulators will have to explain more clearly how they spend their practising certificate fees under revised rules proposed by the Legal Services Board.
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.
