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A personal injury solicitor who put his relationship with work referrers ahead of his duties to the clients they passed on to him has been struck off. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal found one instance where he paid a client’s damages to a referrer without authority “extraordinary”.

Being an alternative business structure (ABS) “definitely gives us an advantage as compared to a typical law firm”, according to the managing director of the unique practice founded by Cherie Blair QC. She said the firm was born from “a recognition of the gap between what law firms can provide and what clients want”.

It is time to consider lowering the burden of proof used by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal from the criminal to the civil standard, Sir Brian Leveson, the president of the Queen’s Bench Division has said. The case saw the tribunal criticised for using the criminal standard to overturn a decision made by the SRA on the civil standard.

The top-30 accountancy firm which in 2013 was the first accountancy practice to acquire an alternative business structure (ABS) licence from the Solicitors Regulation Authority has taken on a second licence from the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales.

A senior partner whose firm’s involvement in stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes brought in £52,000 in fees – but cost the taxman at least £3m – has accepted a £1,500 fine. He failed to ensure the disclosure of material information to lender clients, and allowed the firm to act where there were conflicts of interest.

A will-writing company has been fined £30,000 for making unsolicited marketing calls to people registered with the Telephone Preference Service. It used information from a third-party company, which claimed the people on its list had opted in to receive unsolicited direct marketing calls.

Barristers are set to pay 10% extra for their practising certificates for the next decade, first to plug a multi-million pound hole in the Bar Council’s pension fund and then to buy it out and remove all future liabilities.

There need to be more women and ethnic minorities at senior levels of law firms and taking silk, the Lord Chancellor said yesterday as she pledged action to “force the pace of change” in improving diversity in the legal profession. She announced new measures to encourage experienced lawyers from all fields – and especially solicitors – to seek senior judicial roles.

Technology is transforming the world at a furious pace and artificial intelligence (AI) and the legal frameworks that will emerge from it and similar developments, offer “massive opportunities” for lawyers, according to a leading futurologist.

Making the consumer journey “more flexible, faster and less expensive”, along with giving clients more control, will be the key to the success of Slater & Gordon, its UK chief executive said this week. Ken Fowlie said he was also “determined to make a success” of the firm’s strategy of becoming a dominant consumer law brand, while admitting to “bumps on the road”.