Latest news

A High Court judge has extended a general civil restraint order against a struck-off solicitor for a further two years after her “hyperbolic” claims rendered him almost speechless. The ex-solicitor contended that her case involved “the most important question ever asked in the history of civilisation since the birth of time”.

The government indicated today that it will not go ahead with plans to completely separate legal regulators from their linked professional bodies, such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Law Society. It came in a review of the Legal Services Board and Office for Legal Complaints that found both “generally operating efficiently and effectively”.

US law firm White & Case has been fined £250,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal – five times the previous highest for a firm – over client conflict and confidentiality rule breaches. The tribunal yesterday approved an outcome agreed by the firm and the Solicitors Regulation Authority that in addition a partner should be fined £50,000.

The Ministry of Justice has confirmed that the Civil Liability Bill will, as expected, include rises in the small claims limit for personal injury claims and a fixed tariff for compensation as a former Goldman Sachs banker has been given responsibility for steering it through the House of Commons.

The findings from the Legal Services Consumer Panel’s latest tracker survey that people are generally satisfied with their lawyers does not detract from the concerns over their lack of shopping around before choosing one, the panel has said. “Those who access the service are satisfied, but what about those who can’t?” it said.

An expanding team of more than 100 HM Land Registry lawyers dealt with 100,000 legal enquiries last year, although the organisation has stepped up digital reform efforts aimed at automating key parts of the registry’s work. For instance, the piloting of a digital mortgage service, part of a plan to enable paper-free legal deeds, will be widened later this year.

The student entrepreneur who developed a ground-breaking free chatbot ‘robot lawyer’ to help people challenge parking tickets is working on an ambitious plan to automate the divorce process with the assistance of a team of salaried paralegals, it has emerged. Josh Browder has obtained funding for legal support from a Silicon Valley venture capital fund.

A barrister who made failed to disclose that he had previously run a law firm shut down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority before he applied to be called to the Bar, has been disbarred. Meanwhile, the SDT has struck off a former partner at London firm Hamlins for forging and backdating six letters.

The legal services market is “at a standstill”, with consumers still relying “too heavily on reputation” and reluctant to shop around, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said. At the same time, however, their satisfaction with the advice they received was high.

Lawyers acting for mentally ill clients and dementia sufferers have been praised in surveys commissioned by the Legal Services Board on the needs of vulnerable consumers, but some did find it hard to deal with solicitors. The majority of dementia sufferers said their experience of seeing a solicitor had been “extremely positive”.