Compliance & Regulation
Strike-off for solicitor who exploited vulnerable investors
A solicitor who “exploited and misled” the Zimbabwean women she claimed to be empowering has been struck off.
APIL calls for flexibility on ethics discussions
The SRA should not impose an “overly burdensome and arbitrary” annual requirement on law firms to hold three-hour ethics discussions for their solicitors, says APIL.
Suspension for solicitor who let work as deputy drift for 16 years
A solicitor who acted as a deputy for 16 years and did little to protect her client’s interests in that time has been suspended from practice for six months.
SDT clears conveyancer of taking instructions from client’s son
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has cleared a conveyancer of taking instructions from a client’s son and of manifest incompetence in a property transaction.
SRA warns over “emerging” money laundering risks for law firms
Acting for cash-intensive high street businesses and relying on existing due diligence are “emerging” risks in the fight against money laundering, the SRA has warned.
Strike-off for conveyancer who repeatedly lied to client
A veteran solicitor who repeatedly lied to a client, giving her false assurances over a period of two years about the registration of her property, has been struck off.
Male solicitor struck off for explicit messages to female barrister
A veteran male solicitor who sent a stream of “sexually charged” messages to a female barrister his firm was instructing, even after she told him to stop, has been struck off.
New model complaints procedure “does not guarantee compliance”
The Legal Ombudsman has warned lawyers that using its new model complaints resolution procedure is not “a proxy” for regulatory compliance.
In-house lawyers should “train PR staff on risks of greenwashing”
In-house lawyers should train their company’s marketing and communications teams on the risks of ‘greenwashing’, the Law Society has advised in new guidance.
In-house solicitor struck off for sexually assaulting colleague
A veteran solicitor who continues to dispute his conviction for sexual assault has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Blog
AI risk: What law firms must now demand from vendors
AI systems ingest, transform, infer and generate. Treating them as equivalent to document storage or workflow tools is a category error.
Why mid-sized firms are the most interesting story in UK legal right now
Mid-sized law firms are facing a set of decisions about structure, technology and growth that will define where they sit in the market for the next decade.
Don’t be fooled by the civil court statistics
The latest civil justice figures look deceptively upbeat, with faster claims. But these numbers mask a deeper truth: people are still waiting more than a year for justice.
Reports
Associates
