Solicitors

The High Court has overturned an unusual decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) to strike out for abuse of process the prosecution of five solicitors because the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) had failed to put forward a “coherent or manageable case to answer”.

A legal executive who acted for clients without telling her employer, and paid client money into her own bank account, has been fined £2,000 and restrictions placed on her practice now that she has qualified as a solicitor.

Solicitors view “self-dealing” – acting in their own, rather than the client’s, interests – money laundering, bribery and falsifying a CV as the most serious rule breaches, and bringing weak cases and mismanagement problems as the least, a major report has found.

Three solicitors who borrowed more than £3m from the now collapsed Axiom Legal Financing Fund have been struck off for using the money to fund their practice, which was not the stated purpose of the loan. They are the latest, but not the last, to face disciplinary action in the wake of the Axiom’s failure.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has for the first time made lack of access to legal services one of its priority areas of work. “Only a third of people with a legal problem seek professional advice. And only one in 10 will take advice from a solicitor or barrister,” it said.

The High Court has rejected a solicitor’s bid to overturn conditions placed on his practising certificate by the Solicitors Regulation Authority – but also criticised the regulator for the time it has taken to act in the case. The court said there was “a very real risk” that the solicitor had allowed his client account to be used as a bank account.

The Legal Services Board has argued more strongly than ever that professional bodies must be fully separated from regulators. In a letter to the justice select committee, Sir Michael Pitt, chairman of the LSB, argued that there was scope under existing arrangements for them to “resist reforms”.

A cashier who took nearly £750,000 from City law firm Ince & Co’s office account has been jailed for more than three years. Juliette Holland, 46, from Hockley, Essex pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three years and four months imprisonment at Basildon Crown Court.

A solicitor who allowed his wife to make improper transfers from his firm’s client account has been suspended by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

National law firm Cartwright King is launching a franchise scheme for solicitors who want to set up their own practices, which will operate in a similar way to a virtual firm but allow franchisees to benefit from an existing national brand.