Latest news
CA refers barrister to regulator over clash with judge
The Court of Appeal has referred the conduct of a well-known criminal barrister to the Bar Standards Board, hitting out at his “breathtaking arrogance” despite overturning a contempt finding made against him.
‘Accountants have £500,000 indemnity limit, so why can’t we?’ SRA asks LSB
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has reminded the Legal Services Board (LSB) of its decision to allow accountancy firms wanting to carry out legal work to have minimum indemnity insurance cover of £500,000, in a bid to head off concerns about its move to reduce the level for solicitors.
Third of solicitors make errors when asking anti-fraud authority for consent to act
A third of suspicious activity reports submitted by solicitors seeking consent to continue working on a matter do not contain enough information on which to make a decision, the UK Financial Intelligence Unit has found.
Accountants able to handle probate work without solicitors from next month
Chartered accountants will be able to carry out reserved probate work themselves, without the need to instruct a solicitor, from next month, the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has said.
Internet overtakes friends and family as main way to find a solicitor
Clients are significantly more likely to find a solicitor through the internet than by asking friends or family, a major study of over 2,000 people has found.
Solicitor suspended over boiler-room scam
A solicitor involved in boiler-room scams has been suspended from practising for 18 months by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. He had already been found guilty by the then Financial Services Authority to have recklessly signed off the approval of 50 UK investment advertisements.
Low-profile Tory MP becomes newest justice minister
A little-known Conservative MP with a background in insurance has been appointed the new junior minister at the Ministry of Justice. Andrew Selous replaces Jeremy Wright, who was the surprise choice to become the new Attorney General.
‘QS Price Promise’ to launch in September
QualitySolicitors is to launch its ‘QS Price Promise’ in September, combined with a national TV advertising campaign, the network has revealed. It is also changing its approach to firms having to adopt the QS name.
SRA ducks out of row over Law Society advice on Shariah-compliant wills
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has removed reference to the Law Society’s controversial practice note on Sharia succession rules from its recent guidance on will drafting, it has emerged.
MPs quiz banks over bogus law firms
The row over companies sending letters to customers in debt that falsely appear to be from independent solicitors’ firms, rather than their in-house lawyers, is set to rumble on after the Treasury select committee demanded information from the main high street banks about their activities.
Blog
Motor finance – the FCA is more worried about banks than consumers
The Financial Conduct Authority’s motor finance redress scheme announced last week amounts to one of the largest ever consumer failures by the regulator.
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.
