Compliance & Regulation
Law firm fined £120,000 for 15 years of AML failures
A Southend law firm that failed to comply with anti-money laundering rules for more than 15 years has been fined £120,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Solicitor struck off for allowing use of closed firm’s client account
A solicitor who allowed his firm’s client account to facilitate a suspicious £1.1m property transaction 20 months after it had closed has been struck off.
Bar regulator drops plan for controversial new equality duty
The Bar Standards Board has ditched its controversial proposal to require barristers to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity and inclusion”.
‘TikTok’ lawyer faces money laundering charges
A high-profile Birmingham solicitor, dubbed the ‘TikTok lawyer’ for his activity on the social media network, has been charged with money laundering offences.
High Court rejects bias claim against SDT panel chair
The High Court has rejected claims of bias against the chair of a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal panel made as part of long-running proceedings against a major City law firm.
Solicitor “used one bankruptcy to camouflage another”
A veteran solicitor who used the existence of his first bankruptcy in 1993 to “camouflage the existence” and the need to report his second in 2014 has been struck off.
Zahawi solicitor “ignored” regulatory duties with email
The solicitor for former Conservative MP Nadeem Zahawi either “ignored or dismissed his regulatory responsibilities” in trying to stop publication of an email he sent, the SDT has decided.
Ex-solicitor cited fake cases in bid to appeal strike-off
The High Court has refused to extend time for a former solicitor to appeal against being struck off in 2017 and in any event struck out the grounds for citing 25 non-existent cases.
“Not improper” for barrister to compare Israel with Nazi Germany
A barrister acted within professional boundaries in arguing that comparing Israel with Nazi Germany was not inherently antisemitic, the High Court has ruled – although his client’s tweets doing so were.
SRA hands out record £4m fine to non-lawyer owner of failed firm
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has imposed its largest-ever fine, just shy of £4m, on the former non-solicitor owner of collapsed law firm Kingly Solicitors.
Blog
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
Linklaters’ chief growth officer takes the ‘blank sheet’ challenge
In the third and final part of this series, Lucy Murphy, chief growth officer at magic circle firm Linklaters, outlines her vision for the law firm of the future.
The ‘blank sheet’ challenge, part 2 – what would you do differently?
In the second part of this blog series, Shainul Kassam, managing director of small London firm Fortune Law, sets out how she would set up a law firm now.
