Regulation
Solicitor helped himself to £88,000 from dementia sufferer
A solicitor who helped himself to almost £88,000 from a dementia victim for whom he was acting under a power of attorney has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Solicitor rebuked for issuing cheque that bounced
A solicitor has been sanctioned for sending a client a cheque for his damages which bounced – one of four regulatory settlement agreements reached by the SRA with solicitors and a firm.
Solicitor who felt “intimidated” by clients struck off
A partner who said she felt “threatened and intimidated” by clients who would not accept her advice to discontinue has been struck off for lying about the progress of their cases.
Partner “too embarrassed” to tell clients truth is struck off
A partner who misled beneficiaries about the progress of a case to resolve a dispute over estate assets and then found himself “too embarrassed” to tell them the truth has been struck off.
STaRs and SQE “will drastically increase supply of lawyers”
The combination of the new Standards and Regulations and the Solicitors Qualifying Exam “will drastically increase the supply of lawyers”, the European head of Rocket Lawyer has predicted.
Barristers still struggling with concept of CPD “reflection”
Barristers are generally happy with their new continuing professional development regime but are struggling to understand the concept of ‘reflection’, independent research has found.
Solicitor took 15 years to finish distributing estate
A veteran solicitor who failed to complete several probate matters promptly – with one taking 15 years – has been fined by a tribunal. He said it had been a case of “out of sight out of mind”.
Sets without equal numbers of women “will lose work”
Market forces will mean that commercial sets without a diverse gender pool at all levels will soon find themselves losing work to more gender-equal sets, according to a circuit judge researching equality.
Former partner ordered to pay costs of SRA closing firm
The High Court has ordered a former partner to shoulder the £182,000 costs of the Solicitors Regulation Authority shutting down his law firm in the first case of its kind.
US firm employee sanctioned for ‘drunk on plane’ conviction
An employee in the London office of US law firm WilmerHale whose drunken actions on a transatlantic plane caused it to turn back has been rebuked and fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Blog
Is your Google Ads budget funding your competitors’ AI visibility?
If your cost-per-click has crept up again this year, you’ve probably assumed the market simply got more expensive. That’s the wrong way to read what’s happening.
Containing the spread of unapproved AI
Nearly 60% of fee-earners admit to using unapproved tools (like free versions of ChatGPT). Yet 68% of firm leaders are confident there is zero risk of unapproved AI being used for client work.
When AI adoption goes wrong, costs add up fast
City AM recently reported that London is fighting to claim the title of ‘global capital of legal AI’. However, it’s crucial we remember that adoption alone does not create value.
