Solicitors
High Court: Law firm was not operating collective investment scheme
A law firm which did the conveyancing work on two failed off-plan housing developments was not operating an unregulated collective investment scheme, the High Court has ruled.
New practising fee rules will allow “more meaningful debate”
The Legal Services Board has introduced new rules to ensure legal regulators explain more clearly how they spend the money they raise through the compulsory levies on lawyers.
Solicitor who lied to client, SRA and insurers struck off
A solicitor who lied to her client about the progress of her case and then to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about it, and later to professional indemnity insurers, has been struck off.
Regulators join forces to pilot comparison and review options for firms
Three regulators are joining forces to pilot ways for law firms to engage better with comparison websites and online review platforms, starting with conveyancing and employment work.
Solicitor who retrospectively witnessed signatures is fined £20,000
A solicitor who ‘witnessed’ the signatures of a client’s father that were already on property documents, without checking their authenticity, has been fined £20,000.
Solicitor can present winding-up petition against “successor” firm
The High Court has upheld a decision to refuse a North London law firm’s application to restrain the solicitor who transferred his business over to it from presenting a winding-up petition.
Supreme Court to consider costs orders against regulators
The Supreme Court is to consider whether costs should only be awarded against regulators in unsuccessful cases where there is good reason to make an order, it announced today.
“Inept” solicitor transferred money in breach of court order
A “seriously inept” solicitor who transferred money to another law firm’s client account, in breach of a court order that his firm should hold it, has been fined £8,000.
Legal executive threatened witness in holiday sickness case
A chartered legal executive who made an “implied threat” of criminal proceedings in a bid to stop a witness testifying against her client has been banned from working for solicitors’ firms.
Fines for partners who charged clients for indemnity insurance
Three partners have been fined for charging conveyancing clients for the firm’s indemnity insurance, as well as “variable sums” for filling out a simple standard form.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
