Latest news
Judge terminates appointment of guardian who criticised solicitor
A circuit judge has terminated the appointment of the guardian of a young child in care proceedings after he criticised the father’s solicitor in a letter to the law firm’s head of department.
SRA to reintroduce annual process and fee to stay on roll
Non-practising solicitors will have to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority every year once again and pay an annual charge of £30-£40 if they want to stay on the roll from April 2023.
Claimant lawyer relief after further whiplash reform put on ice
Claimant representatives have expressed relief at the government’s announcement that it is not planning further whiplash reforms for the time being.
Consultancy law firms “putting pressure on talent retention”
The combination of Covid and the high cost of indemnity insurance is persuading solicitors thinking of striking out alone to join fee-share consultancies instead, new research has found.
MoJ finally responds to part 2 of whiplash consultation – five years on
The Ministry of Justice today unexpectedly published its response to part 2 of the whiplash consultation which closed in January 2017, with no proposals for any immediate reform.
“Core of dissatisfaction” with lawyers fuelling complaints to LeO
There is an “underlying core of dissatisfaction with legal service provision, expressed through the complaints system, that is not changing or being sufficiently addressed”, the chief legal ombudsman has said.
Knights’ share price dives after profits warning
Shares in law firm consolidator Knights have nearly halved in early trading after it issued a profits warning. The shares opened the day at 365p and had tumbled to 192p at the time of writing.
Nearly two-thirds of new solicitors are women as gender gap widens
The female majority of solicitors, first established in 2017, is set to continue growing, with women now making up almost two-thirds of newly qualifieds.
Solicitor misled law firm and SRA about driving convictions
A solicitor who made misleading statements to his law firm and the SRA about convictions for drink-driving and driving while disqualified has been struck off.
SRA to urge big firms to report ethnicity pay gap
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to encourage large law firms to start reporting their ethnicity pay gap and introduce ‘exit questionnaires’ for solicitors leaving the profession.
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”.
