Solicitors
SRA pays Leigh Day £1m in costs to end disciplinary case
The highly contentious Leigh Day disciplinary case has come to an end with the Solicitors Regulation Authority paying the firm £1m in costs after the regulator’s unsuccessful appeal.
Fined solicitor who ignored judges’ warnings fails with appeal
The High Court has rejected an appeal by a solicitor who “facilitated” immigration claims which were an abuse of process and “effectively ignored” judges’ warnings to change his behaviour.
SRA “not sufficiently transparent” in explaining decisions
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is “not sufficiently transparent” in explaining its decisions at board level, the Legal Services Board has said, while ticking off other regulators too.
Solicitor receives hefty fine in case with link to Panama Papers
A solicitor who failed to check whether his clients were politically exposed persons, in the first disciplinary matter to involve infamous offshore law firm Mossack Fonseca, has been fined £45,000.
Solicitor fined for offensive and “bullying” emails
A solicitor has been fined for calling a would-be client an “asshole”, “crazy” and “a certifiable nutcase” in correspondence with the man, his partner and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners.
Lawyers making fewer suspicious activity reports
Efforts to encourage lawyers to make more suspicious activity reports are not succeeding, with the number of reports from the legal sector down 12% last year.
Law Society: Employer clients’ interests don’t trump all in NDAs
The Law Society has reminded solicitors that their duty to act in their client’s best interests can be trumped by other obligations when drafting non-disclosure agreements.
Jail for solicitor “who wouldn’t ask too many questions”
A solicitor who was the ‘go to’ lawyer for a gang of criminals because he would not ask too many questions about where their money came from has been jailed for seven years.
Solicitor who ran unauthorised law firm struck off
A solicitor who said his unauthorised firm was acting only for “family and friends” has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, which said this made no difference.
SDT shows leniency to solicitor who faked sick note
An experienced solicitor escaped with an indefinite suspension after a tribunal accepted her plea that she had falsified a client’s sick note while suffering from mental ill-health.
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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