Regulation

The former boss of failed Bolton law firm Asons has been disqualified as a director for seven years because of serial overcharging by the one-time personal injury practice, it has emerged.

A solicitor who persuaded a vulnerable client to pay £4,700 into her personal bank account, pretending the money would be spent on repairs to a property she had inherited, has been struck off.

The High Court has upheld the reprimand and fine issued to a barrister who sent a “seriously offensive” tweet in a private capacity that was “racially charged and derogatory to women”.

A personal injury solicitor put his own interests ahead of his clients, turning a “Nelsonian blind eye” when concerns were raised so as to maintain the flow of referrals from claims companies.

The Competition and Markets Authority has expressed concern that conveyancers’ advice to leasehold clients may be compromised by their relationships with developers.

The former boss of failed Bolton law firm Asons has undertaken not to return to legal practice without the permission of a High Court judge after facing contempt proceedings.

Moving to a system of regulating lawyers by the work they do, rather than the professional title they hold, would not be a radical departure from the current regime, Professor Stephen Mayson has suggested.

A commercial lawyer based in Stroud, Gloucestershire, who wants to “be her own boss” is to become one of the first of the new breed of freelance solicitors.

A paralegal at a Cardiff law firm jailed last year after being convicted of 158 child abuse offences has been banned from the solicitors’ profession.

A solicitor peer has urged the Ministry of Justice to act now and simplify the legal regulatory regime, saying nothing will change if it is left to the profession.