Latest news
Solicitor jailed for stamp duty land tax fraud
A solicitor who falsified returns to HM Revenue & Customs so as to underpay stamp duty land tax and pocket the difference has been jailed for more than three years.
BSB more likely to raise complaints against minority ethnic barristers
Minority ethnic barristers remain more likely than their White counterparts to be subject to complaints raised by the Bar Standards Board, with men more likely than women, new research has shown.
Insurance giant’s ABS hit with fine for money laundering failure
The alternative business structure owned by global insurance services firm Crawford & Company has been fined for failing to confirm that it had a compliant anti-money laundering risk assessment.
Court refuses to block potential claim against solicitors over fees
The High Court has refused to issue an order to prevent a collapsed company’s investors from trying in the future to reclaim the legal fees paid by its boss in defending him from their civil claim.
CA upholds privilege claim to information extracted from solicitor “by deception”
The Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that correspondence between solicitors a judge found involved “an element of deception” as to its real purpose was covered by litigation privilege.
Lawyer-matching site: “Business tripled when everybody moved online”
A competitive bidding website saw a threefold increase in business last year, as solicitors and clients flooded online during the lockdowns, it has emerged.
Listed compliance and risk business snaps up another law firm
Listed company Marlowe has continued the rapid expansion of its employment law business by buying law firm Cater Leydon Millard for £2.25m – its second acquisition in three months.
Regulator intervenes over concern about “PII market failure”
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has had to intervene after two professional indemnity insurers offered firms cover that did not comply with its minimum terms.
Consumers happy with shift to online legal services, survey finds
The pandemic has accelerated the shift to the online delivery of legal services, with consumers generally happy with the experience, major new research has found.
Work of company lawyers becoming trickier, says CMA boss
The work of lawyers advising large companies has become harder because clients are not as concerned to protect their reputations as they once were, the solicitor boss of the CMA has said.
Blog
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
Recruitment, retention and reward in the legal accounts world
Understanding the legal finance market is important – not just for those actively involved in it day-to-day but also for leaders within law firms.
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
