Regulation

A solicitor convicted of sexual assault did not fail to uphold the rule of law and the proper administration of justice, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled in a decision that will have implications for future prosecutions of those with criminal convictions.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to appeal to the High Court over the sanction imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in a ground-breaking ruling last month on mental health and dishonesty, Legal Futures can reveal. The case involved fabricating and backdating documents, which is becoming increasingly common misconduct.

The Bar Standards Board is to regulate a law firm led by a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives, it has emerged. No practising barristers will be involved in the firm, but its principal is also an unregistered (ie, non-practising) barrister.

The government yesterday rejected criticism that its proposed ban on cold-calling did not go far enough and voted it into the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill. A minister said it was “convinced that the new clause will have the effect of making unwanted calls from claims management services unlawful”.

Claimant solicitors and defendants have come together to attack the government’s proposed ban on cold-calling, with the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers describing it as a “broken promise”. ABTA joined the criticism as it emerged that the addition of holiday sickness claims to the fixed recoverable costs scheme is scheduled to come into force in April.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has again decided against striking off a solicitor for proven dishonesty after it accepted that he was suffering from work-induced stress. The solicitor said one of his supervisors had described himself as being “like an abusive husband, always asking for forgiveness and saying it would be different”.

A solicitor has been struck off for conducting reserved activities when he was not entitled to do so and dishonestly misleading the regulator when challenged on it. After closing down his regulated firm, he set up an unregulated one but was found to have conducted both conveyancing and litigation.

The owner of a Manchester law firm which pursued personal injury cases without the consent of clients and also paid prohibited referral fees has been suspended for three years. His misconduct was “shocking and outrageous and had a significant adverse impact on the reputation of the profession”, according to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

A solicitor who “completely failed to recognise the significance of being a partner” in a law firm and the responsibility that involved has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. It said the Compensation Fund had received claims of £1.8m against his firm and “paid out in excess of £1.2m”.

A solicitor, paralegal, GP and claims management company owner are all set to face committal proceedings for contempt of court shortly over an alleged fraudulent personal injury claim. The High Court this week approved further grounds for the committal, taking the total to 40.