Regulation

A former government lawyer who used multiple identities in order to play the victim of a motor accident and then legally represent the other driver has been jailed for eight months for contempt of court.

Barristers who use social media inappropriately will face disciplinary action even if they believe they are doing so in their private capacity, the Bar Standards Board has warned.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal was too lenient in only fining a solicitor who had clients pay money into his personal bank account, High Court has ruled.

The Legal Services Board could steal a march on the Solicitors Regulation Authority by holding at least one of its board meetings in public, it has emerged.

A solicitor acting as a company’s in-house lawyer who said he had to use his client account to make various payments while its bank account was frozen has been sanctioned by the regulator.

Husband and wife barristers have taken over a niche motor trade law firm this month, which has been offering fixed fees since the 1990s and offers an end-to-end legal service.

The Legal Services Board could start reviewing regulators’ case files to increase its oversight of the quality of their disciplinary decisions in the wake of the Leigh Day case, it has emerged.

Two partners who asked clients to sign a declaration in their retainer letters stating that they absolved their law firm “from any liability whatsoever” – including professional negligence – have been fined.

Solicitors’ firms that adjust the way they present information to disabled people – and make explicit how they can accommodate their needs – will see the business benefits, a major study has found.

A sole practitioner has been struck off for a sting in which a client’s money was used by the solicitor’s business partner to buy a property for a much lower price which was then sold to the client at a profit.