Regulation

The focus on Brexit should not hold back regulatory reform in the legal sector, leading market observer Professor Stephen Mayson has urged, countering calls by the Law Society for the government to put it aside to focus on leaving the EU.

The Bar Standards Board has argued against extending the cab-rank rule to direct access work, on the grounds that access to justice would not improve, it might discourage them from taking instructions from the public, and may lead to clients invoking the rule inappropriately.

Accountants are set to enjoy the right to handle litigation, advocacy and legal instruments in taxation work after the Legal Services Board approved an application by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales. Its recommendation will now go to the Lord Chancellor for approval, despite the opposition of the Lord Chief Justice.

The practising certificate fee for solicitors is set to fall 4% this year, but the saving will be largely wiped out by an increase in contributions to bolster the Solicitors Compensation Fund ahead of an expected rise in claims arising from their involvement in fraudulent investment schemes.

A London solicitor who took confidential information from defunct London firm Davenport Lyons to his new employer without client consent has been rebuked and fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The regulatory settlement agreement means he will not have to face a disciplinary tribunal.

Law firm compliance officers and money laundering reporting officers have been scrambling to get to grips with the biggest shake-up in anti-money laundering rules in a decade, with the final regulations – which were only published on Thursday – coming into force today.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today shut down Bolton firm Coops Law, less than three months since it took over the practice of controversial practice Asons, which was also closed down by the regulator.

The High Court has overturned a finding of dishonesty made by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal against a prominent solicitor because the allegation was not tested during the hearing. The case also saw the president of the Queen’s Bench Division, Sir Brian Leveson, insist that honesty and integrity are not synonymous.

The number of law firms closed down by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has fallen to its lowest point for more than a decade, as the impact of the 2008 crash finally recedes, figures released today have shown in an annual review that put into numbers the amount of work the regulator does.

Bar students are struggling to understand ethical values because of the “massive memory test” awaiting them in the examination room, a senior lecturer has claimed. William Ralston, a former barrister, also questioned why anti-money laundering does not feature in the Bar professional training course exam.