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A solicitor who “sold himself to greed” was last week sentenced to 10 years in prison for his part in a crime gang which committed a £108m tax fraud. Mr Justice Edis said he was used as general counsel to the scheme, “in particular to deal with the parts which were too dishonest to be shown to any honest solicitor”.

A pioneering US law firm that only acts for cannabis industry operators is set to launch an office in the UK. Denver-based Hoban Law Group announced this week that it will open four offices in the EU by late autumn and two offices in Latin America by spring of 2018.

The Court of Appeal has agreed to hear the case of a personal injury law firm that lost a £4.5m claim against a legal expenses insurance underwriting agency that the expected number of referrals did not materialise.

A “steady stream of disagreements” between legal regulators and representative bodies means the rules governing their relationships may need to be rewritten, the Legal Services Board said yesterday. The oversight regulator said it had been notified of 30 disputes over the past three years.

A solicitor who was “over his head” in running his own firm, and used a settlement with a vulnerable client to prevent them complaining to the Solicitors Regulation Authority or Legal Ombudsman, has been suspended from practice. He was also found guilty of a number of other breaches.

The president of the Family Division has set aside 21 fraudulent divorce petitions produced by a disbarred barrister. Sir James Munby found that, in each case, the underlying proceedings were “tainted by deception”. The applications were made by the Queen’s Proctor – an official of the Crown able to intervene in divorce and probate cases.

The Legal Ombudsman has appointed Rebecca Marsh as its new Chief Ombudsman. Ms Marsh is currently the executive director of operations and investigations, as well as deputy ombudsman, at the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.

A US law firm has received the largest ever fine handed out by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and also become the first firm to be found to have lacked integrity in its conduct. The tribunal has approved an agreement between Locke Lord and the Solicitors Regulation Authority that means there will not be a hearing.

A tribunal has rejected a solicitor’s plea not to strike him off so he could rebuild his life after being convicted of taking £100,000 from people who thought they were investing in vintage wines. Meanwhile, another tribunal has struck off a solicitor convicted of two counts of making an indecent photograph or ‘pseudo-photograph’ of a child.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is investigating allegations made by a south-west law firm that a company employed by a large number of police forces to assist with road traffic prosecutions has been carrying out reserved activities without authorisation.