Regulation
High street solicitor launches second BSB firm with client
A solicitor has launched a second law firm regulated by the Bar Standards Board – this time an alternative business structure with a letting agent client.
SRA slapped with costs order over failed prosecution
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has taken the unusual step of making a costs order against the Solicitors Regulation Authority for the “grave errors” it made in a case it eventually had to withdraw.
Personal injury lawyer who “wrecked lives” is struck off
A personal injury lawyer who inflated costs, put false information before a court, misled her insurer and “wrecked lives” has been struck off.
Accountants ponder new push to regulate legal services
The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales is considering a new push to regulate reserved legal activities, three years after its last attempt was knocked back.
Lawyers and accountants at odds over economic crime levy
Solicitors and accountants are at odds over whether the new economic crime levy should be calculated by reference to their income or the number of suspicious activity reports they made.
SRA seeks charitable status in Law Society split
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is applying for charitable status as part of becoming a distinct legal entity within the Law Society Group, it has emerged.
Barrister suspended for breaking man’s jaw with hockey stick
A barrister convicted of grievous bodily harm after breaking a hotel receptionist’s jaw with a hockey stick while drunk has been suspended by a tribunal – having qualified as a solicitor in the meantime.
Price transparency “dispelling fears” about cost of legal services
The rules on price transparency are dispelling consumers’ pre-conceptions that legal services are unaffordable and many are now shopping around online, new research has claimed.
Solicitors to have vote on reform of Law Society council
Solicitors are to be balloted on changes to the make-up of Law Society council and limits on how long members can sit on it, at a cost of about £30,000, following a divided AGM yesterday.
LSB “forced” accountants to withdraw from legal services regulation
It was “fundamentally wrong” for Legal Services Board rules to force the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants to withdraw from legal services, another accountancy body has argued.
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.
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