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A leading criminal defence set that set up an alternative business structure last year has launched a military law practice that has clients being investigated by the Ministry of Defence-funded Iraq Historic Allegations Team.

The Legal Services Board has set out plans allowing it to study in more detail spending by approved regulators, such as the Law Society and Bar Council, before it approves their practising fees. The LSB warned in November of a “potentially high-profile and contentious” dispute with Chancery Lane over the use of fees.

North America is slowly moving towards opening up their legal markets, with Canada looking at non-lawyers to represent people with family law problems, and the American Bar Association setting out principles that should govern the regulation of “non-traditional legal service providers”.

A sole practitioner who was the victim of fraudsters and raided his clients’ money to pay them off, has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. He claimed he had been threatened by the fraudsters, who would come to his house to collect their money.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales has accused banks, insurance companies and others of discriminating against accountants providing probate services, in favour of solicitors. It said various organisations “appeared not to have caught up with the consequences of the Legal Services Act”.

Many judges are not “advocacy trainers” and may produce “subjective” evaluations under the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates scheme, solicitor-advocates have warned. The Solicitors’ Association of Higher Court Advocates said there was a danger that some judges would assess on the basis of how they would have done it.

Law firms no longer need to carry out reserved activities in order to be regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – but the regulator has offered assurances that it will not seek to bring the currently unregulated into its net as a form of quasi-accreditation.

Barristers have been warned about instructing solicitors who are charging clients more for their services than counsel themselves are charging. The Bar Council has also cautioned self-employed barristers to be careful not to enter arrangements with solicitors which inadvertently turn them into employed barristers.

Justice minister Shailesh Vara today gave absolutely no ground when quizzed by MPs about Lord Dyson’s fierce criticisms of enhanced court fees. However he did admit that the increase had resulted in fewer claims.

A compliance officer for finance and administration at a Lincoln law firm has agreed to have his activities in the profession restricted after admitting to misappropriating £120,000 in a rare regulatory settlement agreement involving a non-solicitor.