Regulation
Scottish solicitors to receive Covid cut to cost of practising
The Law Society of Scotland has again reduced the cost of practising in recognition of the impact of Covid-19 on its members – in contrast with its counterpart in England and Wales.
FCA launches crackdown on claims management ‘phoenixing’
The Financial Conduct Authority has launched a crackdown on ‘phoenixing’ involving claims management companies specialising in financial services.
CLC to introduce ‘polluter pays’ to cover cost of Legal Ombudsman
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is set to become the first regulator to introduce a ‘polluter pays’ element to how it recovers the cost of the Legal Ombudsman from those it regulates.
SRA and BSB change approaches to gender in diversity surveys
Both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board are this year changing their approach to recording the sex and gender identity of those they regulate, it has emerged.
Non-solicitors sanctioned by SRA for range of misconduct
The SRA has banned a host of non-solicitors from working in the profession for misconduct ranging from taking money and fabricating correspondence to accepting a £20,000 gift from a client.
Barrister reprimanded for talking to lay opponent without their lawyer
A barrister whose actions in speaking to the opposing lay client in the absence of their lawyer led a court to adjourn a hearing has been sanctioned by a disciplinary tribunal.
Solicitor turned “wilful blind eye” to highly suspicious PI claims
A solicitor who turned “a wilful blind eye to the obvious suspicious circumstances” of dozens of virtually identical personal injury claims has been handed a £35,000 fine.
Solicitor who deliberately misled High Court struck off
A former partner at US firm Gibson Dunn & Crutcher found by a High Court judge to have deliberately misled the court has now been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
“Reflect on your ethics” says one barrister to another after Twitter exchange
A barrister suing her chambers and Stonewall has told counsel for the LGBT charity to “reflect on her ethics” after the latter engaged with her on Twitter.
CILEX lawyers turning away from criminal work, government warned
CILEX has added its voice to warnings that working as a criminal legal aid lawyer is no longer a sustainable career, with the number of members studying criminal law halving in less than a decade.
Blog
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
The SRA’s 2025 AML report: What law firms need to know
The SRA has released its 2024-25 anti-money laundering report and the scale of supervision is striking – it carried out 935 proactive engagements in the year to 5 April 2025.
The managing partner in 2026: skills, security and strategic technology
The legal sector stands at a pivotal moment. The pace of technological change is accelerating, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and client expectations are higher than ever.
