Compliance & Regulation
SRA issues warning to firms over sham litigation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has urged law firms to protect themselves from sham litigation, which can be used to bypass anti-money laundering rules.
There aren’t enough immigration advisers, says rebranded regulator
The amount of immigration and asylum advice available across the UK “does not meet the need or demand”, the rebranded Immigration Advice Authority has said.
Over-zealous barristers employing “ethically questionable” tactics
Barristers may “sometimes allow their zeal to advance a client’s interests to embrace tactics which are ethically questionable”, their regulator said yesterday.
SRA: Consumers “at risk from lawyers who do not understand tech”
A lack of digital skills across the UK could be a risk for consumers and law firms if lawyers “do not fully understand” new technology, the SRA has warned.
Financial services barristers fill gap in market with ABS
A specialist chambers of financial services barristers is filling “a gap in the market” by setting up as an alternative business structure regulated by the Bar Standards Board.
Fee-share partner fined for using client account as banking facility
A partner at leading fee-share firm gunnercooke has been fined £14,000 for using the practice’s client account as a banking facility.
Solicitor had clients pay fees into personal bank account
A solicitor has been struck off for telling clients to pay small sums of money into his personal account – but, very unusually, his identity has been kept secret.
Strike-off for partner who asked seller’s firm to backdate completion
A conveyancing partner who asked the seller’s solicitor if he could backdate completion by a day to save his client stamp duty land tax has been struck off.
Ex-solicitor told to repay £1m from fraud or face more years in jail
The struck-off solicitor jailed for 14 years for the Axiom Legal Financing Fund fraud has been ordered to pay back £1.1m or face a further five years in jail.
Suspension for solicitor who did not comply with SDT order
A solicitor who failed to comply with an order made by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in 2020 has now been suspended for a year.
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.
