Compliance & Regulation

The Law Society has advised the Solicitors Regulation Authority against “knee-jerk responses” in attempting to tackle the issue of ethical standards in the profession.

The collapse of Axiom Ince is now set to cost the solicitors’ profession £41m in payouts from the SRA Compensation Fund, it has emerged.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority issued 173 fines to law firms and individuals in its last financial year, more than twice the number of the previous year.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved the sale of DLG Legal Services – the alternative business structure owned by insurer Direct Line – to Aviva.

Prices for basic legal services have increased by more than inflation in recent years, while law firms offering fixed costs are significantly cheaper than those giving estimates.

The SRA has decided not to take action over business secretary Jonathan Reynolds calling himself a solicitor – but warned him of possible prosecution should he do it again.

The Court of Appeal has rejected a solicitor’s challenge to judicial criticism of his “indefensible” conduct, motivated by money, in using leaked privileged material to help win an arbitration.

The evidence of unethical behaviour by barristers is “more limited and nuanced” than that relating to other lawyers, the Bar Council has said.

A Kent law firm has been fined nearly £64,000 for basic anti-money laundering control breaches over many years, one of the larger penalties handed out for the failures.

The Law Society has “paused” work on a material information form for conveyancers, after National Trading Standards withdrew it guidance on the issue last month.