Regulation
Solicitor who used client money to buy jewellery is struck off
A director of a former London law firm who admitted fabricating grants of probate and using client money to buy jewellery has been struck off.
Call for Inns to act as pupillage shortage worsens
The Inns of Court should build a “large co-working space”, possibly on one of their “grand gardens”, to increase the number of pupillages at a time when record numbers are looking for them.
Solicitor fined after conviction for abusive Facebook messages
A junior solicitor diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome who was convicted after sending a woman he briefly dated abusive Facebook messages has now been fined £10,000 by a disciplinary tribunal.
Solicitor failed to advise on “obvious risks” of off-plan schemes
A solicitor who failed to advise on the “obvious risks” of four off-plan property development schemes has been fined £10,000. His advice was “so inadequate as to be incompetent”.
Solicitor faked court documents to mislead client
A solicitor has been struck off for falsifying court documents to make a client think his application to extend his leave to remain in the UK had been made before the leave had expired.
Your chambers aren’t colour blind, top QC tells barristers
Barristers who believe their chambers are ‘colour-blind’ and treat everyone the same “have a problem” and need to change their mindset, a high-profile black QC has said.
Tribunal upholds LSB decision not to release Leigh Day emails
The First-tier Tribunal has upheld the decision of the Legal Services Board not to release an email exchange with the Solicitors Regulation Authority over the Leigh Day case.
SRA to launch project on BAME student underachievement
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to begin a multi-year project to increase understanding of why Black, Asian and minority ethnic students perform worse than white students.
Licensed conveyancers to embrace third-party managed accounts
A revised accounts code that expressly allows firms of licensed conveyancers to use third-party managed accounts has been approved by the Legal Services Board.
Large chambers “should give space to smaller ones”
Large chambers should be prepared to look after smaller sets “chased out” by their landlords by sharing premises and clerks, a senior criminal law barrister has said.
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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