Latest news

A personal injury law firm has lost a £4.5m claim against a legal expenses insurance underwriting agency that the expected number of referrals did not materialise. The firm failed to convince the High Court that there was a contractually binding oral promise in place from 2006 to 2011, when referral fees were lawful.

The focus on Brexit should not hold back regulatory reform in the legal sector, leading market observer Professor Stephen Mayson has urged, countering calls by the Law Society for the government to put it aside to focus on leaving the EU.

The Bar Standards Board has argued against extending the cab-rank rule to direct access work, on the grounds that access to justice would not improve, it might discourage them from taking instructions from the public, and may lead to clients invoking the rule inappropriately.

There needs to be work to ensure the underlying legal system for smart contracts is English or UK law as part of efforts to Brexit-proof the UK legal system, the Chancellor of the High Court said last week. Sir Geoffrey Vos said: “It remains crucial that we lead the world in legal services post-Brexit.”

Accountants are set to enjoy the right to handle litigation, advocacy and legal instruments in taxation work after the Legal Services Board approved an application by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Its recommendation will now go to the Lord Chancellor for approval, despite the opposition of the Lord Chief Justice.

The practising certificate fee for solicitors is set to fall 4% this year, but the saving will be largely wiped out by an increase in contributions to bolster the Solicitors Compensation Fund ahead of an expected rise in claims arising from their involvement in fraudulent investment schemes.

A London solicitor who took confidential information from defunct London firm Davenport Lyons to his new employer without client consent has been rebuked and fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The regulatory settlement agreement means he will not have to face a disciplinary tribunal.

Law firm compliance officers and money laundering reporting officers have been scrambling to get to grips with the biggest shake-up in anti-money laundering rules in a decade, with the final regulations – which were only published on Thursday – coming into force today.

A 28-month pilot of the Online Court is to start next month, with HM Courts and Tribunal Service providing face-to-face assistance to the half of people signed up to it who are expected to need help with filling in forms. Meanwhile, the Master of the Rolls has suggested that physical hearings may become capable of live streaming, particularly in the Court of Appeal.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today shut down Bolton firm Coops Law, less than three months since it took over the practice of controversial practice Asons, which was also closed down by the regulator.