Solicitors
‘Professionally embarrassed’ lawyers wrong to withdraw during murder trial
The legal team of a man accused of murder was wrong to withdraw during the trial but the move did not render his subsequent conviction unsafe, the Court of Appeal has ruled.
Solicitor allowed use of client account as £4.6m banking facility
A solicitor who let his firm’s client account be used as a banking facility for payments from clients’ investors totalling over £4.6m has been fined £15,000.
Another SRA prosecution fails but regulator avoids costs order
The Solicitors Regulation Authority was justified in prosecuting two law firm partners even though all of the allegations were dismissed, a tribunal has ruled.
Email attachments are not privileged just because message is
The Supreme Court has refused to interfere in a ruling that legal professional privilege which covers an email does not extend to any attachments.
Solicitor who misled tribunals on Ugandan law is struck off
A solicitor who misled the First-tier and Upper Tribunals in immigration cases about anti-gay legislation in Uganda has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Veteran solicitor practised without insurance
A sole practitioner in his 70s has been struck off after practising for over six months without professional indemnity insurance, despite telling others he had cover.
High Court highlights “implausibility” of multi-hand fraud at City law firm
A court has highlighted the “implausibility” of multiple people from “a well-known firm of solicitors being involved in a fraudulent scheme” in dismissing a claim against Simmons & Simmons.
Herbert Smith paralegal banned for fake overtime approval
A former paralegal at City giant Herbert Smith Freehills has been banned from the solicitors’ profession after submitting multiple overtime claims with fake approvals on them.
Transparency failures put three firms in the dock
Law firms in London, Manchester and Bath have become the first sanctioned for failing to publish price and service information, with compliance made a condition of their authorisation.
Prosecution of A&O partner over Weinstein NDA stayed
A disciplinary tribunal has stayed proceedings against an Allen & Overy partner over the infamous non-disclosure agreement he helped negotiate on behalf of Harvey Weinstein, because of ill-health.
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.
