Latest news
SRA reports £161m of suspect transactions by law firms to NCA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reported £161m worth of suspect transactions involving the profession to the National Crime Agency, with failures to check the source of funds the main trigger.
Most female lawyers believe they will not experience pay equality
Most female lawyers (84%) believe that gender pay equality will not be achieved until after they retire and that firms’ commitment is more about headlines than real change.
Family specialists choose employee ownership over acquisition
The founders of a specialist family law firm have spurned potential acquirors to transfer it instead into an employee ownership trust, saying the move sends a positive signal to would-be staff.
Solicitor who let one mistake “snowball” fined by tribunal
A solicitor who let one mistake on a property sale snowball so that it affected multiple transactions in a portfolio has been fined £10,000 – even though he preferred to be struck off.
Solicitor struck off for blue badge misuse fails in High Court appeal
A solicitor who used a disabled badge that did not belong to him nine times to park near his law firm has failed in his appeal against being struck off.
Value of medico-legal market slumps by further 5%
The value of the medico-legal market fell by a further 5% last year, after shrinking by 18% during 2020, a report has found, with the lower end hit by the whiplash reforms and court delays.
Partner suspended over gift from client and seeking introduction fee
A former partner at listed law firm Gateley has been suspended for a year after accepting a £2,500 cash gift from a client and later asking the client for an introduction fee.
Retainer entitled law firm to £300,000 fee for aborted bond issue
A small central London law firm has been awarded the £300,000 owed under a retainer which the client had claimed was not payable as the transaction it advised on did not go ahead.
Vulnerable clients struggle in face of “cold, clinical and chaotic” lawyers
Vulnerable clients are being disadvantaged by the “cold, clinical and chaotic manner” in which they are treated by some lawyers, a report for the Legal Services Board has found.
Absolute privilege protects pre-action protocol letters
Absolute privilege applies to communications within pre-action protocols and protects them from defamation claims, a deputy High Court master has ruled in the first such decision.
Blog
The SRA needs to admit it got it wrong about SLAPPs
The High Court judgment in Ashley Hurst v SRA in January raises serious questions about the regulator’s approach to allegations of SLAPP-like behaviour.
Why menopause support belongs on every law firm’s agenda
Progression in the law slows significantly as women approach senior leadership. Most will be at the height of their careers around the average age menopause symptoms begin.
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
