Regulation
Solicitor who kept client’s £1,000 court fee is struck off
A solicitor who kept the £1,000 his client paid for a court fee has been struck off. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal heard that he treated the money, paid into his personal account, as a “loan”.
Law firm was “vehicle” for £5.7m conveyancing fraud
A solicitor who “consciously closed his eyes” to the activities of people he knew were fraudsters, agreeing to buy a law firm which was “purchased from the outset as a vehicle for fraud”, has been struck off.
Solicitor leaves profession over bequest from client
A veteran solicitor who failed to ensure that his client took independent legal advice before leaving him money in her will has agreed to leave the profession.
Owner of record-breaking nuisance call firm disqualified
The owner of a company behind 100m nuisance calls, which was fined a record £400,000 by the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), has been disqualified as a director. Gregory Francis Rudd, 53, was the sole director of Keurboom Communications, which supplied… Read More
Four days to comply with new money laundering rules
Lawyers have until just this Friday to ensure they comply with the Fifth Money Laundering Directive, the government announced just before Christmas.
Barrister suspended for groping Bar student in taxi
A criminal law barrister who groped a Bar student he was mentoring during a drunken night out has been suspended for six months.
Lawyers and clients’ “mutually assured immorality” on NDAs
Lawyers and their clients have been guilty of “a kind of mutually assured amorality or immorality” in their approach to non-disclosure agreements, a leading critic of the profession’s approach has said.
SDT promises non-parties “open justice” on access
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has promised to make “open justice” central to its response to requests from non-parties for access to papers used at disciplinary hearings.
SRA gives up on major indemnity insurance reform
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has ended a controversial five-year project to reform the professional indemnity insurance regime, meaning the minimum level of cover will not be cut to £500,000.
Barrister suspended for Twitter attacks on fellow counsel
A barrister in a long-running dispute with fellow counsel has been suspended from practice for two years after sending her a series of “obscene or seriously offensive” tweets.
Blog
Legal director: an alternative to partnership
Firms are increasingly acknowledging the need for alternative senior roles – positions that offer influence and recognition without the obligations of ownership.
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
