Latest news

The Master of the Rolls today publicly accepted the recommendations of the Civil Justice Council’s costs review, starting with an increase in the guideline hourly rates in January.

Three law firms that failed to comply with the transparency rules have become the first to receive fixed £750 fines under the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s new regime.

Lawyers need to recognise that their role comes with “privileges and obligations” at a time of public concern about unethical behaviour, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board has said.

A family law solicitor who lied to and took advantage of vulnerable clients, including victims of domestic violence, has been struck off and ordered to pay almost £75,000 in costs.

A Commercial Court judge has blamed a claimant “in large part” for the “wholly unacceptable” last-minute adjournment of their case after he had begun pre-reading for it.

Lawyers and litigation funders have expressed disappointment at the government’s legislative proposal to address the Supreme Court’s PACCAR ruling.

Junior lawyers want the right to refuse to work on certain matters for ethical reasons, but few firms currently allow it, research has found. They are frustrated too by the slow pace of cultural change.

The first solicitor ever prosecuted by the Serious Fraud Office for ‘tipping off’ a client about a money laundering investigation was convicted this week at the Old Bailey.

The High Court has rejected an application by Welsh firm Hugh James for a group litigation order in the face of objections from 18 other law firms.

The SRA yesterday issued its first detailed statement on the Axiom Ince scandal, saying the suspected dishonesty was “sophisticated” and missed by everyone else.