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More than 600 solicitors and barristers have signed up to the online marketplace for freelance lawyers set up by LOD that goes live today. Spoke.law allows law firms and in-house teams that need short-term extra resource to hire freelancers on a day rate via a website.

The Law Society of Ireland has confirmed that English and Welsh solicitors will still be able to register to practise in Ireland as the profession steps up its preparations for Brexit. It came amid reports that other jurisdictions trying to take advantage of the uncertainty caused by Brexit to encourage parties to use them.

A sole practitioner who decided not to sack a fraudulent employee after discovering he had stolen almost £90,000 from the firm’s office account has been fined £5,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. However, the SDT rejected 20 of the 24 allegations made against her by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The Law Society has asked the government to give lawyers 18 months to prepare for fixed costs in clinical negligence work, it has emerged. It comes as uncertainty remains over if and when the reforms to personal injury (PI) claims will move forward.

Almost half of female barristers have experienced discrimination at work and 40% have experienced harassment, a major report by the Bar Standards Board has found. Dr Vanessa Davies, director general of the BSB, described the findings as “very disappointing”.

The “chaotic” situation at a solicitor’s firm was no excuse for her failure to pay stamp duty to the HMRC, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled. It said her recklessness in failing to make the payments needed to register title to a property in London amounted to a lack of integrity, and ordered her to be struck off.

The slow pace of change in the legal services market means “regulatory intervention” is needed to force firms to publish their average prices even though it is not a perfect solution, the voice of legal consumers has said. The Legal Services Consumer Panel said this could also counter negative perceptions of lawyers.

The Law Society has blasted Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to allow solicitors to practise from unregulated businesses, saying they risk creating a two-tier profession and eroding the standing of the profession. Chancery Lane said they would also leave clients with less protection.

There are high levels of consumer satisfaction with legal services, according to a survey commissioned by the Competition and Markets Authority. However, those who were not happy usually did not bother complaining because it was thought to be too time-consuming or would not achieve much.

A personal injury lawyer who faced “what could almost be described as a perfect storm” of legal aid cuts and a doubling of his rent has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The SDT said that rather than approaching his bank, the solicitor took a decision to “plunder client account”.