Solicitors
SRA imposes ban on trainee solicitor jailed for rape
A one-time trainee solicitor who violently raped one woman and attempted to rape another has been banned from the profession. His sentence was increased to 16 years in May.
PI lawyer used disbursement cash to prop up firm
The owner of a personal injury firm has been struck off after retaining nearly £500,000 in disbursements to keep his firm afloat after it was badly hit by the LASPO reforms.
Leading firm rebuked over client account misuse
Leading law firm Womble Bond Dickinson has been rebuked for providing a banking facility to a client by receiving and paying out more than £2m that did not relate to any legal work it was doing.
Unregulated firms should have access to regulatory sandboxes
Legal regulators should allow unregulated firms to test their ideas in regulatory sandboxes set up to foster innovation, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Number of complaints received by law firms on the rise
There has been a 9% increase in the number of complaints to law firms last year, but they continue to resolve eight out of 10 themselves, according to official statistics.
Conveyancing paralegal banned for trying to cover up mistake
A conveyancing paralegal who tried to cover up her mistake in not sending an updated plan to the buyers’ solicitor has been banned from working in the profession.
Assistant turned senior partner let struck-off solicitor maintain control
An assistant solicitor who took over a firm after the principal was struck off allowed her to keep practising under her maiden name, use the firm’s office and be sole signatory on its bank accounts.
Solicitor rebuked for settlement agreement demand
A solicitor has been rebuked for trying to include a ban on her former employer referring her to any regulatory authority as part of a settlement of disputes between the two.
Now MP targets Herbert Smith over Post Office work
An MP has urged select committees to investigate the role of law firms – and in particular Herbert Smith Freehills – in helping client companies accused of wrongdoing set up compensation schemes.
Advocacy shake-up to hit trainees but not youth courts
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to end the practice of allowing trainee solicitors to obtain higher rights of audience but has reversed course on its proposed approach to advocacy in the youth courts.
Blog
Your landlord clients have prepared for the wrong law
Lawyers advising major landlords and build-to-rent operators have spent the better part of a year on the Renters’ Rights Act. A good deal of that advice has been aimed at the wrong risk.
Your website is losing clients before they even pick up the phone
Your website visitor is likely already carrying stress before they arrive. If your site adds to it rather than relieves it, you have likely lost a prospective client.
The growing importance of higher limits in personal ATE
While the personal litigation market is undergoing a period of significant change as claims become more complex, much of the ATE insurance market has remained relatively static.
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