Latest news
SRA shuts down 16-office law firm consolidator
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today shut down a 16-office law firm consolidator with 180 staff across the country. It is highly unusual for the regulator to intervene in such a large practice.
Bar students hit by technical failures in first online test
A “small number” of Bar students were affected by technical issues that prevented them from completing their first online exam, the BSB said yesterday amid a stream of complaints.
Dentons to add non-legal services amid global growth
The chairman of the world’s largest law firm, Dentons, has outlined a future of continued expansion, merging with both law firms and in time non-legal businesses around the world, including the UK.
LeO: Simplest complaints could take over a year to conclude
The Legal Ombudsman has warned that if its poor performance over the last few months continues, it could take more than a year to process even the simplest complaints.
Former partner faces £230,000 director’s loan account claim
A former equity partner in a two-partner North-East law firm faces a claim to repay his overdrawn director’s loan account of nearly £230,000 as the fall-out from its acrimonious split continues.
Consumers “more likely to both shop around and complain”
Consumers of legal services are more likely to shop around and to make a formal complaint if they do not get what they want than in previous years, new research has found.
MPs urge action on lawyers who facilitate “aggressive tax avoidance”
The lawyers and others who devise and market ineffective tax avoidance schemes are often breaking the law and a few legislative tweaks will make it easier to prosecute them, MPs have claimed.
Chambers giving notice on leases in wake of Covid
Barristers may be keen to get back to work but they are not going back to chambers, and nearly a third of sets have given or are considering giving partial notice on their leases.
Accountancy body withdraws from legal services regulation
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants has decided to withdraw from legal services regulation and contract it out to CILEx Regulation, in the first move of its kind.
Judge loses race discrimination claim over litigant’s complaint
A judge has failed in his claim that he suffered discrimination, harassment and victimisation due to his race over how a complaint against him by a litigant was dealt with.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
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.
