Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor asked boss to help cover up her misconduct
A solicitor kept money meant for counsel for several months, altered the date of a fee note from his chambers and then pleaded with her boss to hide it from the regulator.
Fine for drunk solicitor who assaulted 18-year-old woman
A leading criminal law solicitor convicted of sexually assaulting an 18-year-old woman while drunk in Newcastle city centre on New Year’s Eve has been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
No sanction for trainee who billed “in anticipation” of doing work
An under-pressure trainee solicitor who billed for work she anticipated doing has not been sanctioned by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, even though she did not eventually do it.
LSB issues wide-ranging list of weaknesses in legal market
The LSB has issued a damning diagnosis of weaknesses in the structure of the market, including inadequate transparency by law firms and smaller regulators unable to cope with the change needed.
Solicitor agrees to leave profession over offensive emails and tweets
A solicitor who sent hundreds of offensive emails and tweets to the law firm acting for him in a dispute – and was convicted of a public order offence – has agreed to remove himself from the roll.
Company lawyers open to idea of regulating in-house departments
A proposal that in-house legal departments should be regulated as a separate regulated business unit within their organisations has been broadly welcomed by senior company lawyers.
Barrister misled Google in review take-down request
A barrister has been reprimanded and fined for misleading Google in trying to get a negative review taken down. He said he had been subjected to “distressing online trolling”.
Defence QC’s accusation against prosecutor was not misconduct
A QC who accused prosecution counsel of bad faith without reasonable grounds was in breach of Bar Standards Board rules but not to the level of professional misconduct, a tribunal has ruled.
Barrister sanctioned for “positive discrimination” jibe at judge
A barrister has been reprimanded and fined for suggesting that a female Asian judge only secured her position as a result of “positive discrimination”.
Students “could save up to £38k” by qualifying with SQE
Students could save as much as £38,000 when qualifying as a solicitor following the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination next September, a report has estimated.
Blog
The questions that determine if the SRA’s client money reforms will work
Both reforms respond to real and well-evidenced gaps in the current framework. The SRA’s changes after consultation feedback shows it’s listening. But structural change on paper is only half the job.
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.
Reports
Associates
