Regulation

The Legal Services Consumer Panel and Criminal Law Solicitors Association have both strongly criticised Solicitors Regulation Authority ideas to improve advocacy standards – but from opposite standpoints.

A solicitor who practised without insurance has been spared an appearance before a disciplinary tribunal, in part because he was suffering from depression at the time.

A barrister suspended last month for offensive messages on Facebook posted one that was effectively a threat to kill a member of the public, it has emerged. They were also “misogynistic”.

A solicitor and former East London councillor was jailed for 16 months after pleading guilty to two counts of housing fraud. He also paid compensation of £125,000 to Tower Hamlets Council.

A solicitor discarded an undertaking he had given and tried to take advantage of a mistake made by the law firm on the other side of a conveyancing transaction, it has emerged.

A barrister jailed for making indecent photographs of children has been disbarred, while another disciplined by the SDT suspended, and a barrister who failed to appear at a hearing reprimanded.

Approval of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam is not a foregone conclusion, the Legal Services Board is to make clear to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Issues such as quality and cost must be addressed.

Law schools are not taking advantage of the “enormous regulatory freedom” they have and instead are largely all offering the same kind of law degree, new research has found.

Chambers should give barristers the right to return to work after two or three years of parental leave, the Western Circuit Women’s Forum has said.

Claimant personal injury solicitors are buying leads obtained illegally and in breach of the referral fee ban, a leading insurance company has claimed. Aviva said solicitors should have to declare their source.