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Three solicitors who borrowed more than £3m from the now collapsed Axiom Legal Financing Fund have been struck off for using the money to fund their practice, which was not the stated purpose of the loan. They are the latest, but not the last, to face disciplinary action in the wake of the Axiom’s failure.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has for the first time made lack of access to legal services one of its priority areas of work. “Only a third of people with a legal problem seek professional advice. And only one in 10 will take advice from a solicitor or barrister,” it said.

A barrister who claimed she was the victim of racial discrimination by the Bar Standards Board has lost her appeal against a ruling that her case was brought out of time. Portia O’Connor, who is black, was the first barrister to become a partner in a legal disciplinary partnership.

The High Court has rejected a solicitor’s bid to overturn conditions placed on his practising certificate by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – but also criticised the regulator for the time it has taken to act in the case. The court said there was “a very real risk” that the solicitor had allowed his client account to be used as a bank account.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel said last week that it was “not blind to the challenges of increased price transparency”, but insisted that making lawyers publish “average” prices could be the catalyst for making consumers ask more questions about cost.

The Legal Services Board has shied away from recommending a single solution which all the legal regulators should follow on indemnity insurance. The LSB instead called on the regulators to work more closely together on the issue.

Accountants are set to go head to head with lawyers for tax work after the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales yesterday formally applied for the right to allow members to conduct reserved legal activities. The institute said the move would be in the interests of consumers.

The Legal Services Board has argued more strongly than ever that professional bodies must be fully separated from regulators. In a letter to the justice select committee, Sir Michael Pitt, chairman of the LSB, argued that there was scope under existing arrangements for them to “resist reforms”.

The online small claims court expected to be the model for England and Wales was launched in Canada last week when the Act moving it from voluntary to mandatory claims came into force. The value threshold for claims will eventually will rise to those up to C$25,000 (£14,610).

A cashier who took nearly £750,000 from City law firm Ince & Co’s office account has been jailed for more than three years. Juliette Holland, 46, from Hockley, Essex pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment at Basildon Crown Court.