Compliance & Regulation
CA rejects insurer’s aggregation bid in huge law firm fraud
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision not to aggregate as one the claims a Yorkshire law firm’s indemnity insurer is facing because of a multi-million pound fraud run by one partner.
Trainee solicitor banned from profession for past stalking conviction
A trainee solicitor convicted of stalking nearly five years ago has been banned from working in the legal profession by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Solicitors should offer clients more choice than single barrister
Clients referred to barristers by solicitors were unaware that they had a choice of barrister, “nor did they feel able or equipped to make that choice”, a report for the Bar Standards Board has found.
“A scandal within a scandal”: Call to investigate Post Office lawyers
Researchers have called for an investigation into whether lawyers involved in the Post Office Horizon litigation committed professional misconduct, calling it a “scandal within a scandal”.
Partner who lied to SRA and indemnity insurer is struck off
A partner who lied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority and her indemnity insurer, and allowed her firm to continue trading without insurance, has been struck off.
Solicitor agrees to leave profession over property sale irregularities
A solicitor involved in property transactions where due diligence on clients and funds was severely lacking has agreed to leave the profession rather than face a disciplinary tribunal.
BTAS rejects calls to soften sanctions for ‘low level’ sexual misconduct
The Bar Tribunals & Adjudication Service has rejected the argument that a starting point of 12 months’ suspension for sexual misconduct is too much for some less serious types of behaviour.
SDT chief defends role in policing solicitors’ personal conduct
It is “impossible for solicitors to leave their practising certificates at home completely” when it comes to behaviour in their personal lives, the president of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has said.
Law Society: Solicitors must not use AI without clients’ consent
Clients should be put at the heart of legal technology by law firms, including being asked for consent before artificial intelligence is deployed, solicitors have been told.
High-profile solicitor Todner to face disciplinary tribunal
High-profile solicitor Karen Todner is to face the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over allegations of financial mismanagement. The tribunal is also to hear a case involving leading London firm Mishcon de Reya.
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.
Reports
Associates
