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Law firms each fined £12,000 for AML failures
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined two law firms over £12,000 each for anti-money laundering failures, one having accepted source of funds confirmation from a Ukrainian law firm.
LawtechUK works with advice charity to reduce unmet need
LawtechUK is working with leading legal advice website Advicenow – which suffered a funding crisis earlier this year – as part of its new goal to reduce unmet legal need, it has emerged.
Specialist lawyers publish free AI contract clauses
The Society for Computers and Law has launched a set of free contractual clauses for transactions involving artificial intelligence.
Law firms increasingly screening clients against ESG values
The increasing extent to which clients are being screened against environmental, social and governance issues was laid out at a Law Society conference last week.
Majority of law firms still failing to follow price transparency rules
Nearly six in 10 law firms are failing to publish the full cost and service information required by the transparency rules, a report for the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Criminal solicitor bodies urge members to join trade union
The two main organisations representing criminal defence solicitors have urged their members to join the trade union Unite so as to “exercise their voices collectively”.
Solicitor who practised unauthorised for son’s business is suspended
A solicitor who practised unauthorised and handled reserved probate work for a company owned by her non-solicitor son after her firm closed has been suspended for three months.
Court refers lawyers to regulators over misconduct in $11bn arbitration
A High Court judge has referred a solicitor and a barrister to their regulators for “indefensible” conduct, motivated by money, that contributed to his decision to overturn an $11bn arbitration award.
SRA makes pitch to be sole AML supervisor for UK legal sector
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has called on the government to make it the sole supervisor of anti-money laundering activity by all lawyers.
BSB could publish assessments of chambers and encourage mergers
The Bar Standards Board has floated the idea of publishing assessments of individual chambers as part of a new supervision strategy and encouraging smaller ones to bulk up through merger.
Blog
Regulate sole practices on evidence, not turnover
For a sole practice, the SRA’s plan that I cannot hold a compliance role if my firm has more than £600,000 of turnover is not a measure of risk. It is a ceiling on growth.
Is Google becoming pay-to-play for law firms?
For years, law firms have been told that SEO is the long-term alternative to paying for every click. That principle hasn’t disappeared but search results have changed significantly.
Material information and the case for intelligent client onboarding
Upfront information means work traditionally undertaken after an offer is accepted will need to happen earlier. And that fundamentally changes the role of client onboarding.
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