Regulation

A solicitor who did not honour the terms of his consultancy agreement with a law firm and sought £140 in fees directly from clients through his unregulated business has been fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – nearly 15 times the money at stake.

Lawyers who meet new standards of transparency over the price and service standards they offer could display a logo to show the public that they meet best practice, the Competition and Markets Authority has suggested. The detail of its 518-page report showed significant concerns that the lack of transparency was leading to some consumers being overcharged.

The Competition and Market Authority’s report on legal services yesterday provoked a predictably mixed response that pitted the Law Society against the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and found support from the body representing paid McKenzie Friends. Meanwhile, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers called on the Legal Services Board to use its powers to force regulatory independence to happen.

A solicitor has been struck off for practising without being authorised by the regulator and, when challenged, dishonestly claiming he had not handled client money when he had an account set up for the purpose.

Regulators need to deliver a “step change in standards of transparency” so that lawyers’ clients can both understand the price and service they will receive, and compare providers, the Competition and Markets Authority said today. The watchdog also called on the government to review the whole regulatory regime, and backed full independence for legal regulators.

The incoming chairman of the Bar last night questioned the way court modernisation is being carried out, expressing concern that there is “no plan B” if digitisation does not work and that the justice system would lose its essence by moving to online hearings. His wide-ranging inaugural speech also focused on the travails of the junior Bar.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has published a blueprint for simplifying its system for granting waivers to regulations in order to promote innovation, which it suggests will particularly benefit small firms. The new policy would guarantee no enforcement action would be taken if innovations create technical breaches of the rules.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has painted a “generally positive” picture of law firms specialising in asylum work, but uncovered serious weaknesses on referrals, fees and the handling of judicial reviews.

The status and quality of legal representation for children before the Youth Court need to be raised first by an increase in legal aid rates and then by mandatory training for all solicitors and barristers appearing for them, a government-commissioned review has recommended.

A volume conveyancing firm has apologised after sending out letters to clients asking for an additional £200 fee to “prioritise” their files in the run-up to Christmas. Meanwhile, the Council for Licensed Conveyancers is to launch a ‘secure badge’ to help the firms it regulates combat their websites being cloned.