Regulation
Black barristers report high levels of discrimination by judiciary
More Black barristers have reported experiencing racism from judges, magistrates and panel members than from other lawyers, a report has found.
Solicitor “proud” to have run £3.4m loan scheme with client cash
A solicitor who loaned £3.4m from clients’ estates and private lenders to other clients and “known individuals” – a broking operation he had carried out for decades – has been struck off.
High Court overturns “flawed” SDT decision to clear solicitor
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal “fell into serious error” in finding no case to answer against a solicitor accused of making a fraudulent costs claim, the High Court has ruled.
Family lawyers “must be forced to follow good practice”
Family lawyers should be forced to follow good practice to protect children from “acrimonious legal representation”, and should embrace multi-disciplinary practice, a major report has concluded.
“Reckless” conveyancer agrees to leave profession
A “reckless” solicitor who admitted registering properties with the wrong purchase price and failing to carry out anti-money laundering checks has agreed to leave the profession.
Union attacks Law Society over redundancy plan
The country’s largest trade union has criticised the Law Society for planning redundancies instead of furloughing staff, as well as slashing its presence outside of London.
SRA sees small firm practitioners as “easy targets”
The SRA has come under fire for how it deals with sole practitioners and solicitors at small firms, with the chair of the Society of Black Lawyers saying they were seen as “easy targets”.
“Shocking discrepancies” in Bar gender pay gap analysis
The gender pay gap at the Bar is “alive and well”, the chair of the Bar Council said yesterday, after new figures looking at individual practice areas revealed “shocking discrepancies”.
Suspended solicitor who “went too far” is struck off
A solicitor who admitted that he “had gone too far and had done too much” by practising while suspended has been struck off, while his supervising partner has been suspended.
SRA: Most firms secured insurance but mergers on the rise
This year’s indemnity insurance renewal season has not been as bad as some had predicted, but there has been an uptick in mergers and acquisitions, the SRA has revealed.
Blog
Forms are evolving – and more interesting than you might think
I have spent much of my working life thinking about something most people would probably prefer not to think about at all: legal forms.
The questions that determine if the SRA’s client money reforms will work
Both reforms respond to real and well-evidenced gaps in the current framework. The SRA’s changes after consultation feedback shows it’s listening. But structural change on paper is only half the job.
The new metrics for success in conveyancing
While technology has made much of the conveyancing process faster, there remains a practical limit to how many matters anyone can manage while still keeping standards intact.
Reports
Associates
