Other lawyers
LSB research: Firms see little value in what they spend on regulation
Regulation accounts for between 15% and 23% of the costs of law firms, money they would generally not bother spending if they were not required to, an indicative study by the Legal Services Board has found. However, the opposite was the case for lawyers practising as individuals.
Government-funded legal apprenticeships set to start next year
Legal apprenticeships funded by the government are on course to start next September, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, Chartered Institute of Legal Executives and the Council for Licensed Conveyancers have confirmed.
Jail for ‘professional’ McKenzie Friend who defrauded clients of thousands of pounds
A ‘professional’ McKenzie Friend who targeted people unable to claim legal aid and then defrauded them of thousands of pounds has been jailed for three years. He offered cheap legal services to people involved in cases involving their children or grandchildren.
Another unregulated adviser sentenced for providing immigration services
A Birmingham man who provided unregulated immigration advice has become the latest operator in the sector to be convicted for his actions. He was sentenced to a community order for 24 weeks, concurrent for each offence, and made subject to a curfew.
Legal regulators urge government to ease burdens on ABSs
Legal regulators have called on the government to make a series of changes to the Legal Services Act that will make it easier to approve and regulate alternative business structures. The move is part of the first output from joint work being done by all of the legal regulators to identify opportunities for deregulation.
Osborne: CMCs face fundamental review and fees cap
A “fundamental review” of claims management companies – along with a cap on the fees that they can charge consumers – was announced by Chancellor George Osborne in today’s Summer Budget.
Bogus solicitors given jail time for providing immigration advice
A man who falsely claimed to be a solicitor has been jailed for 15 months after being guilty of providing unregulated immigration advice and services, while another who was actually a bus driver has been handed a suspended sentence.
Will writers’ body is first to urge members to join paralegal register in voluntary regulation move
Will writers have become the first practitioners to sign up to a new register of paralegals, which is set to be launched next month as part of an effort to set standards for the non-authorised legal professionals.
Paraskeva returns to the law as CLC chair
Former Law Society chief executive Dame Janet Paraskeva has been named as the new chair of the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. Dame Janet, a non-lawyer, has been appointed for an initial four-year term.
Huge rise in number of lawyers disciplined for money laundering, Treasury reports
There has been a massive increase in the number of lawyers disciplined by their professional bodies for breaking the rules on money laundering, a Treasury report has found.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
