Regulation

The High Court has refused to aggregate as one claim various actions a Yorkshire law firm’s indemnity insurer is facing because of a multi-million pound fraud run by one of its partners.

An immigration lawyer who made what he described as “huge money” by facilitating a dubious international finance transaction has been suspended indefinitely by a tribunal.

A leading legal academic has been appointed to lead the independent review into the difficulties experienced by students who sought to sit the centralised Bar exams this summer.

Crucible Law opens its doors virtually this week following the closure of predecessor set Charter Chambers in the teeth of the pandemic’s impact on the justice system.

A family law barrister, together with the former chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association, are looking to shake up the Bar by adopting a corporate structure for their new chambers.

A solicitor who overcharged two estates by £275,000 has been struck off, but his partner – and younger brother – has avoided the same sanction after saying he was “too trusting”.

Law firms have been urged to change their retainers now so they can charge clients for holding their money, given the “possibility, if not likelihood” of negative interest rates.

An employed barrister convicted of fraud after claiming expenses he was not entitled to has avoided being thrown out of the profession by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority could offer “activity-based licences”, allowing lawyers to provide individual reserved legal activities instead of its current ‘all or nothing’ approach to regulation.

The new way of qualifying as a solicitor, including passing a centralised, two-part examination, will go live from 1 September 2021 after the Legal Services Board approved the reforms.