Solicitors
Ban for legal executive who used own money to cover error
A chartered legal executive who covered up a mistake by paying a client her own money to increase her settlement has been banned from working for solicitors’ firms.
Covid-19 round-up: BSB reassures barristers about rule breaches
Barristers who follow official guidance on Covid-19 will not be in breach of their professional obligations, the BSB has said amid a range of developments in the courts, PI and conveyancing.
SRA to make immigration regulation permanent
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to extend indefinitely the suspension of immigration work from its removal of restrictions on solicitors providing non-regulated services.
SRA rebukes Withers for money laundering training delay
Leading London law firm Withers has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for failing to ensure staff received timely anti-money laundering training.
SRA: “Solicitors conceal disability for fear of harming careers”
Many disabled solicitors have downplayed the extent of their disability because they don’t trust law firms to treat them equally with their able colleagues, new research has revealed.
Law firm rebuked for breach of undertaking
A law firm in Suffolk has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for breaching an undertaking in a conveyancing transaction.
Solicitor overlooked AML because client was law firm partner
A solicitor acting in a property transaction has admitted not following anti-money laundering procedures because her client was a partner at a large international law firm.
Flight delays solicitor suspended for “taking shortcuts”
One of the first solicitors to enter the flight delay compensation market expanded his firm too quickly and took “shortcuts in the way he managed the claims”, a tribunal has found.
71 bang on the drum for freelance solicitor status
Some 71 solicitors have so far taken advantage of new rules allowing them to practise as freelancers, it has emerged. The SRA is also to issue 20 pieces of new guidance on the STaRs.
Lawyers face new anti-money laundering levy
Lawyers are to face a levy to help fund government action to tackle money laundering and ensure delivery of its economic crime plan, Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced in yesterday’s Budget.
Blog
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
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.
