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A solicitor who claimed that he “unwittingly facilitated” money laundering on behalf of an associate of convicted murderer and drug dealer Dale Cregan has been struck off. He was jailed for nine months last year after being convicted of seven counts of failing to comply with money laundering regulations and one count of failing to disclose his suspicions.

Only a handful of legal professionals believe that artificial intelligence software is more accurate than junior lawyers and thus a reason for implementing it, according to a survey. But over three quarters planned to invest in AI systems within the next two years nevertheless, mainly to remain competitive and provide a better service to clients.

Listed firm Keystone Law has reassured investors that the Solicitors Regulation Authority has ended its investigation into a case in which a High Court judge accused it of conniving with clients to try and avoid a debt. Meanwhile, we also report on a series of high-level departures and arrivals at some of the country’s most high-profile ABSs.

Self-employed barristers are “data controllers” and not “data processors” for the purposes of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as they need to be able to act independently of instructing solicitors, the Bar Council has said.

The government yesterday got its way with the form of the cold-calling ban that will be imposed on claims management companies and said it would be backed up by hefty fines on anyone who uses illegally obtained data.

International law firm Morrison & Foerster (MoFo) is facing a $100m (£73m) class action over claims that it discriminates against female staff when they return to work after childbirth. Three female associates currently employed at the firm alleged that MoFo subjected them and other female staff to lower pay and delayed advancement.

The negative attitudes of family lawyers towards defending divorce cases and financial disincentives such as the high level of legal costs are no substitute for changing the law to a system of no-fault notifications, according to a major report. It also put paid to the notion that family lawyers push clients towards litigation for their own financial benefit.

Activity by claims management companies in the area of holiday sickness is “much reduced”, the regulator has claimed. The Claims Management Regulator said it made the finding after completing an “intensive audit” and investigation.

Two solicitors and a registered foreign lawyer at an immigration firm in north-west London have been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for misappropriating client money. The tribunal said there was no evidence that the sole owner of the firm had “taken an interest” in its financial”.

A solicitor who specialised in acting for the elderly and their families has been jailed for two and a half years for the wilful neglect of her own 79-year-old mother, who died in squalor despite her daughter having power of attorney to act on her behalf. The prosecutor described it as “one of the most shocking and sickening cases of neglect I have come across”.