Regulation
Groundbreaking family barrister wins £50,000 innovation award
A barrister who co-founded a groundbreaking business that allows separating couples to obtain advice from a single legal expert at any point in the process, has won a £50,000 Women in Innovation award.
Solicitor struck off after contempt finding allowed to return to profession
A solicitor who was struck off more than 20 years ago after being found in contempt of court and breach of undertakings to the High Court, has been restored to the roll.
Male barrister suspended for lewd comments aimed at female mini-pupil
An experienced barrister who made crude sexual comments to a woman on a mini-pupillage has been suspended for six months and told not to take on pupils or mini-pupils in future.
High Court: No duty on barrister not to cause instructing solicitor loss
A barrister was not liable to her instructing solicitors for the fees they claimed they lost out on as a result of her alleged negligence, the High Court has ruled.
Solicitor who lied about lost documents wins SDT rehearing
A junior solicitor struck off last year after she left confidential documents in a locked case on a train is to have a retrial to reconsider the impact of her mental health on her actions.
Junior solicitor who lied to opponent “in blind panic” avoids strike-off
A newly qualified solicitor who said she was “blinded by panic” when she lied about sending an email containing personal data to the wrong person, has been spared a strike-off.
Solicitor struck off for forging signatures while a trainee
A solicitor who forged a qualified colleague’s signature on conveyancing documents while still a trainee has been struck off, with a tribunal rejecting her claim that she had been authorised to do it.
Bar regulator “struggling to keep pace” with rising volume of work
The Bar Standards Board has admitted it is struggling to keep pace with a rising volume of incoming reports, authorisations and disciplinary cases, and is failing to meet several of its service standards.
High Court “considered referring Duncan Lewis to SRA”
The High Court has condemned an “utterly hopeless” urgent application by national legal aid firm Duncan Lewis, relating to six asylum judicial reviews, which was “bound to fail”.
Quarter of pupil barristers experiencing financial hardship
Almost a quarter of pupil barristers say they are experiencing “some financial hardship” during the pandemic, but a lack of networking opportunities was the main problem they identified.
Blog
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
The SRA’s 2025 AML report: What law firms need to know
The SRA has released its 2024-25 anti-money laundering report and the scale of supervision is striking – it carried out 935 proactive engagements in the year to 5 April 2025.
