Latest news

The Legal Ombudsman has brought its first enforcement actions in the county court after two law firms failed to comply with its orders. In the first case, LeO had told the solicitors to pay £2,650 compensation to their client for paying money to a third party without authorisation.

The Society of Will Writers is stepping up efforts to position itself as the regulator of the industry by introducing compliance checks against its new code of practice. The SWW is the largest will-writing body with 2,000 members.

The Legal Services Board (LSB), Law Society and Bar Council have thrown their weight behind a best practice code aimed at stamping out bias in granting internships and improving social mobility for disadvantaged students. Meanwhile, LSB chairman David Edmonds has criticised the idea of restricting access to training to deal with the oversupply of bar students.

Excluding claims by financial institutions from compulsory professional indemnity insurance cover will harm consumers and smaller law firms, cut access to justice and do little to reduce conveyancing claims, the Law Society has said.

The three main professional bodies have all set out their stalls against lawyers being “named and shamed” if found guilty by the Legal Ombudsman (LeO) of providing an inadequate service. The Bar Council has this week joined the Law Society and Institute of Legal Executives in criticising the idea.

Barristers going into competition with solicitors to offer litigation services could reduce costs and make services “more efficient for consumers through packaged delivery”, the voice of legal consumers has said. The Legal Services Consumer Panel also backed the Bar Standards Board as the sole regulator of advocacy services.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has slated the suggestion by the Legal Services Board that approved regulators should collect and publish all referral agreements between introducers and lawyers, which the SRA estimates run to many thousands.

Solicitors innocently caught up in frauds on mortgage lenders can find themselves liable for the whole loss if they release funds before receiving documents needed to prove title, even if the lender is negligent.

The three biggest legal regulators have set out the terms of their two-year joint review of education and training. The review – being undertaken by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Bar Standards Board and ILEX Professional Standards – will examine the educational requirements placed upon individuals entering the sector and their regulatory function.

TV property guru Sarah Beeny has welcomed alternative business structures as a “positive step forward” so long as they deliver increased choice, lower prices and better service for consumers – but warned that their regulation must be robust to maintain standards.