Private Client
Prison sentence for former executor who refused law firm’s requests
The High Court has imposed a suspended prison sentence on a former executor who failed to comply with court orders by not providing information to a law firm.
International wealth management firm to launch ABS
A wealth management and tax advice firm is to launch an alternative business structure later this year to create a “fully joined-up advisory platform” for its globally mobile clients.
More applications for probate being made without lawyers
Private client law firms could see client numbers fall as the court digitisation programme is helping more people submit probate applications themselves.
PE-backed firm sees capping billable hours as key to growth
A law firm that limits its solicitors to 25 billable hours a week has seen annual growth of 40% over the last two years.
No strike-off for solicitor’s “spontaneous dishonesty”
A solicitor who signed a deed as a witness to a signature when she had not actually been present has escaped being struck off.
Search fund buys conveyancing and private client law firm
An investor-backed search fund has acquired a conveyancing and private client law firm as the start of a ‘buy and build’ strategy aimed particularly at SME practices with succession issues.
Junior solicitor lied about applying for grants of probate
A junior solicitor who told clients, colleagues and others that she had submitted applications for grants of probate when she had not, has been struck off.
Probate firm boss jailed for contempt over missing estate money
The boss of an unregulated probate business has been sentenced to a year in jail for contempt of court after failing to reveal the whereabouts of £432,000 of an estate’s money.
Suspended sentence for online harassment of solicitors
The partner of a deceased solicitor has received a suspended sentence for contempt of court after breaching injunctions designed to stop her online harassment of his executors.
“Come and join us”, CLC tells conveyancing and probate specialists
Solicitors’ firms specialising in conveyancing and probate should know there is an alternative to the SRA, the chief executive of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers has said.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
