Solicitors
Inappropriate behaviour by potential QCs “not being recorded”
The current process for awarding the title of QC does not allow “sufficient opportunity” for inappropriate behaviour witnessed by opponents or even court staff to be recorded, the Law Society has warned.
Tribunal clears solicitor but refuses to order costs against SRA
A solicitor has been cleared by a tribunal of misleading the court but failed in his bid for the Solicitors Regulation Authority to pay him almost £100,000 in costs as a result.
UK unexpectedly reduces tax scheme reporting burden on firms
The government has unexpectedly announced that DAC 6, an EU cross-border tax transparency rule with major implications for international law firms, will be rewritten in the wake of the Brexit trade deal.
Solicitor “took advantage” of daughter-in-law over flat purchase
A solicitor who took unfair advantage of his own daughter-in-law by not completing his purchase of her flat and not telling her, and then renting it out for his own benefit, has been struck off.
SRA ordered to pay solicitor costs over botched prosecution
A tribunal has ordered the Solicitors Regulation Authority to pay a solicitor £22,500 in costs after ruling that many of the allegations made against him were not properly brought.
Leading firms fined for accounts rules breaches
Two well-known law firms have accepted fines from the SRA – one for allowing its client account to be used as a banking facility and the other for holding disbursements in its office account.
Struck-off solicitor receives pardon from President Trump
A solicitor struck off for making false statements to the Mueller inquiry into alleged Russian involvement in the election of US president Donald Trump has received a presidential pardon.
SRA and CLC given clean bill of regulatory health
The Solicitors Regulation Authority and Council for Licensed Conveyancers have been given a clean bill of health by the Legal Services Board in its latest assessment of regulators’ performance.
“Hundreds of millions” of pounds laundered through conveyancers
It is likely that criminals launder “hundreds of millions” of pounds with the inadvertent aid of conveyancers across the UK, the government has warned. London litigation firms are also being targeted.
High Court rejects solicitor’s appeal against strike-off
The High Court has rejected an appeal from a solicitor struck off for persuading a vulnerable client to pay £4,700 into her personal bank account.
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.
