Compliance & Regulation

A law firm was not under a duty to investigate a client’s agent in a property sale, who turned out to be a struck-off solicitor jailed for theft, the High Court has ruled.

The board of trustees and directors of Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd met for the first time last week after agreeing the transfer of £9m in assets to the new company from the Law Society.

A law firm revenue controller given a suspended jail sentence after diverting £32,000 in payments meant for suppliers to his own bank account has been banned from working in the profession.

Two solicitors have been fined for allowing their firm to take on work in areas where they had no experience and accepting client money when it did not have a client account.

The spring renewal season saw law firms pay a lot more for their PII, with the surge in conveyancing work a concern and contentious probate an increasing problem.

Performance at the Legal Ombudsman is finally improving, with more cases being closed, but dealing with the backlog is only lengthening wait times for new complainants.

New forms of intervention introduced in other countries to ensure the ongoing competence of lawyers – such as annual assessments and greater self-reflection – will influence reform in England and Wales.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has refused to remove conditions on the practising certificate of a 63-year-old solicitor who said he wanted to recover his “pride and dignity”.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has refused to terminate an indefinite suspension imposed on a solicitor a decade ago, saying he had not proved he was ready to return to practise.

A solicitor used “vulnerable” clients’ money for his own purposes, as well as holding onto cash for disbursements and leaving client damages in his office account, has been struck off.