Solicitors

A veteran solicitor who was tricked by an email fraud to pay out £290,000 in proceeds from a conveyancing transaction to a third party has been fined £10,000.

A solicitor has begun a petition urging the Solicitors Regulation Authority to allow firms to make unsolicited approaches to consumers online, saying the blanket ban goes too far.

There was no protection for staff under the TUPE after the sole owner of a law firm was made bankrupt and the practice taken over, the Employment Appeal Tribunal has ruled.

Five solicitors, a solicitor apprentice and a legal assistant who worked at one of the largest law firms to be shut down by the SRA have been awarded more than £37,000 by an employment tribunal.

Law firms should advertise unbundled services or offer them directly to clients, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said, highlighting the “untapped potential” to support consumers in accessing advice.

City law firm Clyde & Co has been given permission to pay into court $325m it is holding in an escrow account, after an American judge removed the risk of it being prosecuted for doing so.

There must be a “third way” of ensuring that qualified lawyers are competent without relying on disciplinary proceedings, the director of regulation and policy at the Legal Services Board has said.

A tribunal has rejected an appeal by a solicitor against a £1,000 fine imposed by the SRA for breaching a written agreement he made during probate litigation.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority made 26 reports of suspected money laundering by solicitors to the National Crime Agency last year, involving more than £200m in possible criminal proceeds.

The disparity between the best and worst legal practice course providers has continued to grow, with the attainment gap for White and BAME students remains stubbornly large.