Latest news
‘Public access’ barrister disbarred for lying about immigration application
A barrister has been disbarred for lying about submitting an immigration application on behalf of a client’s mother-in-law. It also emerged at a Bar disciplinary tribunal that Michael William Wainwright was not qualified to act as a public access barrister.
Big legal brands unveil new marketing campaigns
Forget the John Lewis Christmas advert – lawyers have stepped up efforts to target the over-50s and the victims of medical accidents in the latest high-profile marketing pushes by QualitySolicitors and First4Lawyers respectively.
IPS applies to raise fines limit for legal executives from £3,000 to £50m
ILEX Professional Standards (IPS) has applied to the Legal Services Board (LSB) to raise the maximum fines limit for chartered legal executives from the current £3,000 to a top level of £50m.
SRA rejects bid to give law firms open access to BARCO
A request by the Bar Council for law firms to be given automatic access to BARCO has been rejected by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, it has emerged.
Bar Council warns on potential “cost to quality” from CPD move
The Bar Council has warned of a potential “cost to quality”, following an announcement from the Bar Standards Board (BSB) that from next month it will only accredit CPD providers, and not individual courses.
Unbundling – a necessity for consumers or risk to professional standards?
The potential for unbundling legal services to help consumers – and particularly litigants in person – is to be examined in a research project being commissioned by the Legal Services Board and Legal Services Consumer Panel.
BSB anticipating hundreds of barrister businesses after receiving entity regulation green light
The Bar Standards Board has doubled its prediction of how many entities it expects to be overseeing by the end of 2015 after receiving Legal Services Board approval to regulate businesses.
Phone scams hit solicitors, with four firms losing £2m
Four law firms have recently lost £2m from their client accounts after falling victim to scammers who tricked them into disclosing bank security information over the telephone, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.
Barrister convicted of CS gas offences disbarred after second disciplinary hearing
A barrister who successfully appealed the decision of a previous disciplinary tribunal was yesterday ordered by a new tribunal panel to be disbarred. He was originally disbarred for failing to disclose previous criminal convictions for possessing CS gas and wilfully obstructing the police.
Exclusive: ABSs and other ‘NewLaw’ businesses form lobbying group
The first body to represent alternative business structures and other new-style legal practices has been launched, Legal Futures can reveal. The ABS & NewLaw Advisory Council is chaired by Jenny Beck of Co-operative Legal Services.
Blog
Mazur: a symptom not a cause?
If Mazur is a symptom, what does it mean for the underlying health of our civil justice system: the ‘finest legal system in the world’?
Cross-generation collaboration: the key to in-house legal tech adoption
In-house legal function leaders will increasingly have to evolve their thinking on how to manage multigenerational teams containing differing levels of technological expertise.
AI and law firm risk – the view of professional indemnity insurers
In considering law firm applications for cover, many insurers will expect to see evidence of how firms are adapting to AI and preparing for the future.
