Compliance & Regulation

A solicitor has been struck off after more than 50 years on the roll after admitting dishonesty over the signing of a lasting power of attorney.

Restricting or banning law firms from holding client money would be “unwarranted” and “undoubtedly have a huge adverse impact on the reputation of the profession”, the Law Society has warned.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has castigated the Solicitors Regulation Authority for prosecuting a law firm and two partners based on “accusation without evidence”.

The barrister and amateur photographer suspended for two years for a conversation with a woman about modelling told her she did not have to start with nude pictures.

The administrators of Plexus Legal have now racked up more than £650,000 in fees in less than 18 months, more than twice their original estimate.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has waived a £120,000 fine it intended to levy on a law firm because it has now gone into administration.

The SRA’s plans to reform consumer protection arrangements are disproportionate, risk undermining public confidence and will not work, the five largest local law societies have warned.

An experienced solicitor who had an “implacable belief that he was right” and so did not think he needed to check anti-money laundering rules has been fined £45,000 for breaching them.

The barrister suspended for two years after showing his photography website to a woman and offering to take unclothed photos of her has said it was “an innocent discussion”.

In the second part of our interview with barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman, she discusses her run-ins with the Bar Standards Board, culminating in a disciplinary hearing.