Compliance & Regulation
“We need to see privileged material to do our job,” SRA tells court
Serious wrongdoing by solicitors may be shielded from regulatory action if the SRA does not have the right to view privileged material, the High Court will be told next month.
Lawyers may have to pay LeO case fee even if complaint is dismissed
Law firms may for the first time have to pay a case fee for complaints dismissed by the Legal Ombudsman, under new proposals published yesterday.
Litigation funding reform remains our intention, minister tells MPs
Litigation funding reform, the interest on lawyers’ client accounts scheme and the regulation of legal AI tools were all on the agenda for justice minister Sarah Sackman yesterday.
Legal services lead way as government’s first AI Growth Lab
Legal services will be the first sector to join the government’s new AI Growth Labs – providing a regulatory sandbox for AI systems – justice secretary David Lammy announced yesterday.
LeO not set up to handle solicitor/client costs disputes – for now
The Legal Ombudsman is open to a discussion on it replacing the courts for costs disputes between solicitors and their clients – but would not be in a position to actually do it for some time.
“Burn it” solicitor suspended for two years
A senior City partner who told a client to “burn” a private messaging app after it was served with a search order has been suspended for two years.
LeO eyes case fee and scheme rule reform as complaints climb
The Legal Ombudsman will this month set out stronger incentives for lawyers to resolve complaints by reforming the operation of the case fee regime, Legal Futures can reveal.
Increasing number of lawyers view SRA negatively
The legal profession’s negativity about the Solicitors Regulation Authority has increased markedly, but most are still positive about it, according its own research.
Aspirring solizitors to benafit from SQE spellchecka
Aspiring solicitors who have been “hindered” in the SQE2 exam process until now will finally be able to use a new spellchecker in their written assessments next month.
Solicitors faced with SRA demand for privileged material “should delay”
Solicitors asked by their regulator to hand over privileged client material should ask for a delay while the High Court considers the issue, a KC has advised.
Blog
Is clients’ use of AI destroying legal privilege?
Much has been written about the risks of lawyers misusing AI. However, in my view, the greater challenge lies elsewhere: the routine use of AI by clients themselves.
Does the Lloyd review mark the end of the Legal Services Act?
The Legal Services Board often generates eye-rolls and irritation from the leaders of the frontline regulators it oversees and of the representative bodies attached to them.
A familiar story?
There is no doubt that the rising cost of clinical negligence claims deserves attention. However, the system’s true cost driver is often not the claim itself.
