Latest news

Has any law firm ever made the news like London law firm Mishcon de Reya did yesterday? It was the subject of headlines around the world – and faced accusations that it could cause riots on the streets – after announcing on Sunday that it was representing a group of unnamed clients in seeking to ensure that it is Parliament that triggers article 50 and the UK’s formal exit from the EU.

A criminal law barrister has launched a direct access website to facilitate private prosecutions by people with cases that the Crown Prosecution Service and police have failed to pursue. He said his website had generated five cases already after being up and running only “a couple of months”.

The Legal Services Act 2007 has improved quality and, to some extent, competition in legal services, but further legislative reform is necessary to complete the liberalisation of the market, the Legal Services Board said today in its triennial evaluation of the Act.

A solicitor who took money from vulnerable people for whom she was the court-appointed deputy – and even kept some of it in cash in her wardrobe – has been struck off after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled that her conduct was more than just a “cry for help”.

Sir Nigel Knowles, the former global co-chairman of DLA Piper, has joined the advisory board of The Link App, the communications application for law firms and their clients created by former The Apprentice candidate Lauren Riley.

London law firm Mishcon de Reya has begun legal action to ensure that it is Parliament, rather than the prime minister, that has the power to trigger article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and the formal start of the UK’s exit from the European Union.

The partners of a 41-year-old Black Country law firm have expressed their “bitter” disappointment at having to close down due to a dispute with their professional indemnity insurers. At the same time, four lawyers from Sanders & Co are facing the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over their involvement in a complex overseas investment scheme.

Redde plc – the AIM-listed accident management company that owns NewLaw Solicitors – has seen its share price bounce back following the post-referendum stock market falls, with the help of a positive trading statement.

A solicitor who failed in his attempt to challenge the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s closure of his alternative business structure is now to face a disciplinary tribunal, it has emerged. Michael John Elsdon is facing 15 charges, largely in relation to his conduct of probate matters.

A solicitor who received a caution for possessing a small number of indecent images of children has been suspended from practice for a year. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal accepted that he had “stumbled” across the images, which were in the lowest category of severity.