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Separate representation for lenders and borrowers in conveyancing transactions “should be the norm”, a senior manager at insurer Zurich has said. Michael Blüthner Speight described the increased cost would be “minimal”.

Barristers are to be allowed to operate through agencies and corporate vehicles under proposals released today by the Bar Standards Board. As things stand, employed barristers in a non-authorised body (that is, not regulated by a legal regulator) are not allowed to supply legal services to clients of their employer without a waiver.

A criminal lawyer who failed to report a drink-driving conviction to the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Gail Evans said she was aware of the need to report convictions but “panic had set in”.

National Accident Helpline (NAH) has announced its third and largest acquisition since becoming a listed company, after agreeing to buy Bush & Company Rehabilitation Ltd for £28m. It announced a placing of new shares to raise £14.2m, which will part fund the cash consideration for the deal.

There should be no question of the Solicitors Regulation Authority “bargaining” with solicitors about sanctions, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has made clear. The tribunal rejected a “suggested outcome” proposed by the SRA and a solicitor, and imposed harsher penalties.

Veyo is still being tested and there is no fixed date for its national launch, the president of the Law Society told property lawyers last week. Jonathan Smithers admitted that “clearly the publicity ran well ahead of the product”.

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) is to recruit more ombudsmen to triage complaints against lawyers in a major reorganisation that aims to improve the quality of its decision making, Legal Futures can reveal. Steve Green, chairman of the Office for Legal Complaints – the body that oversees LeO – admitted that “speed had got out of kilter with quality”.

Nottingham Law School has created the first “teaching law firm” for students after being granted an alternative business structure licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. It will allow students to work in its Legal Advice Centre as a fully regulated organisation as part of their studies.

A barrister who withdrew £2,000 from a lay client’s bank account without permission or warning, and also failed to co-operate with both the Bar Standards Board and Legal Ombudsman over complaints against him, has been suspended for three months.

The new legal business set up by the former head of Quindell Legal Services is poised to start its acquisition programme after being authorised as an alternative business structure (ABS) by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.