Solicitors
GMC can investigate solicitor doctor over legal advice
A claim that a solicitor who is also a doctor provided dishonest advice to his clients can be subject to the General Medical Council’s disciplinary process, the High Court has ruled
EHRC urges compulsory disability training for lawyers
Disability awareness should be a professional requirement, and a mandatory element of criminal lawyers’ CPD, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has recommended.
Trainee falsified LPC certificate to trick SRA
A trainee solicitor who applied to join the roll with a falsified certificate that he had passed the legal practice course has been banned from the profession.
Legal regulators cool on the idea of being abolished
Legal regulators have reacted coolly to the recommendation of Professor Stephen Mayson that they be replaced by a single organisation, arguing instead the case for specialism.
SRA to beef up AML monitoring of law firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to beef up its monitoring of firms’ anti-money laundering efforts and begin a review of continuing competence, its draft 2020/21 business plan has revealed.
Law Society maintains £134m budget for next year
The cost of practising as a solicitor is set to fall marginally as a result of lower compensation fund contributions, while the Law Society’s £134m budget for 2020-21 remains virtually static.
SRA to press ahead with launch of SQE in autumn 2021
The Covid-19 crisis will not stop the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam in September 2021, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said as it published the exam’s final design.
‘Sham marriage’ solicitor loses strike-off appeal
The High Court has dismissed an appeal by a solicitor struck off after telling an undercover television reporter that he would help them apply for a visa on the back of a bogus marriage.
Compensation Fund cuts would be “devastating”
Cutting the maximum size of Compensation Fund awards from £2m to £500,000 could have a “devastating” impact on “unlucky claimants”, the Law Society has warned.
Consumers “ignore” conveyancing fraud risk as solicitor jailed
Consumers are more worried about the fee conveyancers charge to transfer their money than the risk of it being stolen, research has found at the same time that a solicitor is jailed for fraud.
Blog
Why this is the year for law firms to embrace generative AI
After more than a year of pilots, proofs of value and early experimentation, firms are increasingly embedding AI into day-to-day workflows.
Client account interest is not spare change
The proposed Interest on Lawyers’ Client Accounts scheme is being framed as a sensible, international, “tried and tested” way for the profession to help fund a justice system under strain.
The formula for finance-enabled business development
Client concentration or over-dependence now counts as a top strategic risk for 26% of firms. Cross-selling is an antidote – a way to bolster revenue resilience without relying on client acquisition.
