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The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor convicted of a serious offence after he was allowed to continue in practice following two previous appearances before the tribunal for accounts rules breaches. It conceded that a warning given on his second SDT appearance had been ineffective.

The Court of Appeal has overturned a High Court ruling that had protected law firms from financial risk through restricting the way professional indemnity insurers could aggregate multiple claims. However, the case is not over as it has been sent for retrial.

Law firm network QualitySolicitors yesterday announced a greater focus on lead conversion, along with a change in leadership to drive it. CEO Eddie Ross is to leave next month and be replaced by Ben Greco, managing director of property services firm Move with Us.

A direct access service providing the public and businesses with fixed-fee unbundled access to barristers, claims to have doubled its turnover in each of the last two years and expects to grow next year. Absolute Barrister has also designed what it says is the first case management system for direct access work.

The independent Low Commission, which has produced a series of influential reports on the future of social welfare law, is to “start a process of winding up”, its chairman has announced. Lord Low said funding was “increasingly hard to secure”.

Taylor Vinters will this week implement artificial intelligence contract review software developed by a law tech company that the law firm has invested in. Last month another tech investment by the firm, Pekama, launched a mobile app

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has ditched plans to examine what it could do to enhance consumer protection for those who use unregulated providers, it revealed yesterday. The result of the consultation on its draft business plan also revealed a significant cut in the LSB’s research spend, delivering an extra £150,000 reduction in its overall 2016/17 budget.

A DIY legal guidance and forms website set up by two Korean solicitors and aimed at overseas SMEs and start-ups setting up businesses in the UK, is to launch later this year. LawXero is an unregulated platform which styles itself as “a flexible online legal information and guidance station for smart businesses looking to establish a UK presence”.

A group of public access barristers have formed a partnership with a debt solutions company to provide debtors with fixed-fee court representation that they could otherwise not afford. The co-founder of Debt Rescue Solutions said its clients faced a “total inequality of arms” when representing themselves.

The Bar Standards Board is to investigate whether male barristers with new-born children should be entitled to a form of shared parental leave, with the Bar Council calling for provisions which would give them a rent rebate from their chambers while not working.