Latest news
City solicitor’s tech start-up receives $6m funding boost
A start-up that creates visual models of complex legal transactions, set up by a former City solicitor, has announced a $6m funding boost, led by American investors.
Solicitor persuaded vulnerable client to send him explicit photos
A solicitor who misled a vulnerable family law client into sending explicit photographs of herself to his personal mobile phone has been struck off.
PE-backed barrister group hires Bar’s biggest-ever pupil cohort
The Barrister Group has used some of the private equity funding it secured this time last year to recruit what it believes to be the largest single intake of pupils at the Bar.
Neill urges Probate Service to share more data with lawyers
The Probate Service needs to share more data about its performance so that lawyers can manage client expectations, the outgoing chair of the justice select committee has said.
Judge uses new power to “encourage” ADR in absence of agreement
The High Court has used new powers to “encourage” the use of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) in family proceedings in the absence of agreement between the parties.
Number of complaints to law firms up 20% in five years
The number of complaints received by law firms went up by about a fifth between 2019 and 2023, the SRA has found – but averages out only at four per practice.
SRA falling short on key target for progressing investigations
Efforts by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to speed up investigations are falling short of some of the targets introduced last year, it has emerged.
BSB board and staff at odds over transferring foreign lawyers
Members of the BSB clashed with senior staff last week over how to deal with the large number of foreign lawyers seeking to be called in England and Wales but who do not intend to practise here.
Law firm fined £12,400 for not making good on undertakings
A law firm in Nottingham that failed to perform undertakings it gave on two property transactions – allowing another party to register a charge on one of them – has been fined £12,400.
Profession to pay for firm failures as compensation fund levy soars
The SRA has proposed a 336% hike in compensation fund contributions for law firms in the wake of the spiralling cost of law firm failures.
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.
