Regulation
SDT: No significant risk that groping ‘KKK’ solicitor will repeat conduct
There is no “significant risk” that a senior partner who did a Ku Klux Klan impersonation at his Black secretary and repeatedly groped her bottom will repeat his behaviour, the SDT has decided.
Law Society: Race inclusion in profession not improving quickly enough
Actions to improve race inclusion in the solicitors’ profession are not delivering change quickly enough, Law Society research has found, highlighting a significant ethnicity pay gap and the need for targets.
Litigant in person threatened opposing lawyers with violence
A High Court judge has expressed concern that a litigant in person has threatened violence against lawyers for the people he is suing while dismissing a bid to disqualify the solicitors from acting.
No-comment barrister reprimanded for breath test refusal
A barrister convicted of refusing to undergo breath tests when suspected of drink driving has been reprimanded by a tribunal, which criticised him for giving a no-comment interview to police.
Firm fined £14,000 for conveyancing ID failures
An alternative business structure that failed to carry out sufficient identity checks on conveyancing transactions has been fined £14,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Law firm in court battle over alleged snooping
The High Court has refused a City law firm permission to cross-examine people it accuses of trying to obtain confidential information it holds over their affidavits.
Solicitor ordered secretaries to retrospectively “witness” wills
The managing director of a law firm who ordered legal secretaries and a trainee solicitor to retrospectively “witness” wills which had already been signed by clients has been struck off.
Second provider reveals price for SQE preparation courses
QLTS School has become only the second training provider to announce how much it will charge students to prepare for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination from next year.
Barrister “of good judgement” was not negligent over client’s conviction
A barrister of “good judgement” who had to make rapid decisions in a “pressurised environment” was not negligent even though it turned out her client was wrongly convicted.
BSB stats and Beckwith ruling put focus on misconduct outside practice
There has been a significant increase in the number of complaints about the conduct of barristers outside of practice, it has emerged, as the implications of the Beckwith ruling continue to reverberate.
Blog
The cost of systemic failure and childbirth injuries
Recent reports show that the NHS has paid almost £3.5bn in medical claims around childbirth injuries over the past six years.
Mazur: when regulators make simple things complicated
What the last six months have shown is that supervision cannot be treated as a background compliance obligation quietly managed somewhere in a firm’s operational processes.
How unstoppable AI is reshaping UK legal practice
At a time when most technology innovation still flows from the US and China, UK lawtech is attracting growing international attention and capital.
