Regulation

A solicitor who admitted that he had “lost control of events completely” in the final months of his firm – due to his “ineptitude and incompetence” – has been suspended for two years.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is pushing on with plans to cut the upper limit for Compensation Fund awards from £2m to £500,000, while modifying other proposals to reduce the cost of the scheme.

The Bar Standards Board is struggling to cope with the rise in complaints from members of the public, missing its performance target by a big distance, its annual enforcement report has revealed.

A solicitor has been struck off after nearly 40 years in practice after admitting that the difficulties of relying on payment from criminal legal aid work overwhelmed him.

A law firm should not have refused to hand over £330,000 from the sale of a house in South London for nearly four years despite having “reasonable grounds for suspicion” over the seller’s identity.

A network for freelance solicitors that is “ready to launch immediately” cannot get off the ground because it cannot secure professional indemnity insurance, it has emerged.

A trainee solicitor who admitted multiple offences, including rape, committed in quick succession against two women in July 2019 was jailed last week for 14 years.

A partner who admitted acting recklessly in failing to warn investor clients about the risks involved in off-plan property development schemes has been fined £17,500 by a disciplinary tribunal.

Reforms to the regulation of legal services proposed by an independent review would lead to a “massively uncertain and costly system”, the president of the Law Society has said.

An experienced solicitor has been fined £20,000 for misconduct after being duped into accepting that a woman was who she said she was because he did not require documentary proof.