Latest news
Cost of practising to rise sharply as SRA and Law Society unveil budgets
Solicitors’ practising fees are set to increase substantially this year, with the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Law Society needing an extra £9.3m to fund their work.
Students bid to hold big firms accountable for fossil fuel work
Large UK law firms play an “indispensable role” in supporting the fossil fuel industry and law students need to hold them accountable for their impact on climate change, a new report has argued.
Partner was “blinded” by desire to keep best client
A solicitor who described a property developer currently being investigated by the Serious Fraud Office as his law firm’s “best client” has been fined £45,000 for misconduct.
CJC: Costs budgeting has worked but needs to be more tailored
Costs budgeting has been a success and should be retained, but also reformed in recognition that “one size does not necessarily fit all”, a major report has recommended today.
Double acquisition for MAPD Group with “more to come”
The MAPD Group – a business bringing together local law firms – yesterday announced a double acquisition in the North-West ahead of “several” more deals later in the year.
Law firm ordered to pay £12m for negligence in insolvency claim
National law firm TLT has been ordered to pay around £12.5m in damages for breach of contract and professional negligence over the way it handled an insolvency claim.
Former solicitor with unpaid SDT fine cannot return to profession
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled that a struck-off solicitor, who had still not paid £2,700 of a fine it imposed for a previous offence in 2011, cannot return to the profession.
Claim rejected due to £24 underpayment of court fee
A judge was right to hold that he did not have jurisdiction to allow a claim to proceed out of time where the claimants underpaid the court fee by £24, the High Court has ruled.
Jailed solicitor’s fraud has cost profession £2.7m so far
The SRA Compensation Fund has paid out over £2.7m to clients of the law firm operated by Christopher Michael Bilmes, a solicitor jailed for fraud last month.
Party using freezing order as “means of oppression”, High Court says
A High Court judge has condemned a claimant’s “oppressive and disproportionate” approach to enforcing a defendant’s obligations under a freezing order.
Blog
The profession can play a greater role in improving access to justice
In this, the third blog of my series, I focus on what lawyers in the UK can do to improve access to justice through greater professional stewardship.
Does AI work for conveyancers? We asked those on the front line
What is the view on AI from conveyancers themselves? Based on a Dye & Durham’s roundtable discussion on AI, the answer is: it depends.
Is the legal profession ready for agentic AI?
An AI agent is difficult to supervise. By design, it works in the background. It means a solicitor can be held responsible for work they had no real means to oversee.
Reports
Associates
