Regulation

A solicitor who was the ‘go to’ lawyer for a gang of criminals because he would not ask too many questions about where their money came from has been jailed for seven years.

A solicitor who said his unauthorised firm was acting only for “family and friends” has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which said this made no difference.

An experienced solicitor escaped with an indefinite suspension after a tribunal accepted her plea that she had falsified a client’s sick note while suffering from mental ill-health.

A solicitor who took £100,000 from a fine wine scam on investors has been ordered to pay back less than a quarter of the sum or face more jail time.

Access to justice includes information about lawyers’ fees, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has told the Bar Standards Board. It also called for more focus on barristers’ communication skills.

A solicitor who broke the personal injury referral fee ban by paying an unlicensed claims management company over £200,000 in only six months has been fined.

The practice of making fraudulent legal aid claims was “endemic” at Blavo & Co, which at its height was one of the largest legal aid firms in the country, the High Court has found.

A solicitor convicted of tax fraud has been struck off, with a disciplinary tribunal rejecting his claim that he had been the victim of a police campaign to “get” him.

A solicitor who named his client as the defendant in a claim against the firm by an expert witness has been struck off. His motivation was to protect his firm’s reputation, a tribunal suggested.

Personal injury law firms are among those most at risk of fines under GDPR, while data subject access requests are increasingly being used as a litigation tactic, it has emerged.