Latest news
Firm’s £3m of invoices face assessment after losing ‘statute bill’ fight
National law firm Weightmans is to have nearly 50 invoices totalling £3m subjected to a detailed assessment after failing to convince a judge they were interim statute bills.
Judge rejects defendant’s request to pay law firm’s £2m costs
A High Court judge has refused a request from a defendant in the London Capital & Finance fraud case to use the proceeds of sale of his home to pay his solicitors over £2m.
SRA agrees to take over regulation of CILEX members
The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has agreed to regulate CILEX members if it decides to press ahead with changing regulator.
Niche advice law firm expands into litigation funding agreements
A law firm which specialises in providing independent legal advice where needed in property, banking and finance transactions has expanded to litigation funding agreements.
Partner underperformance hitting many law firms’ profitability
Partner underperformance remains an issue for most law firms and continues to affect profitability “significantly”, according to new research.
Ex-solicitor struck off 24 years ago fails in bid to return to roll
A woman struck off as a solicitor 24 years ago has failed in her second attempt to be restored to the roll, with a tribunal saying the passage of time did not of itself justify it.
Law firm fines should be a minimum of £5k, says SRA
The SRA has proposed that any fine it imposes on law firms should be at least £5,000, as well as ending fines for solicitors convicted of drink-driving.
Five-year suspension for solicitor – for practising while suspended
A veteran solicitor who practised while suspended has been suspended again, although the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal said it had “some reservations” about the sanction.
Water companies win first stage of search providers’ overcharging claim
Water companies have the upper hand after the first stage of a High Court claim brought by conveyancing search providers claiming to have been overcharged for a decade.
SRA “has not justified” huge compensation fund levy rises
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has not done enough to justify the huge increases in compensation fund contributions for the coming year, the Law Society has argued.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
