Compliance & Regulation
Barrister reprimanded for “unreasonable” conduct of immigration case
A barrister made subject to a wasted costs order because of his conduct of an immigration judicial review has been reprimanded and fined by the Bar Standards Board.
ASA rules law firm’s flight delay claims adverts misleading
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a Scottish airline’s complaints that a Manchester law firm’s adverts for flight delay claims were misleading.
Solicitor blames launching firm on eve of Covid for rule breaches
A solicitor has blamed the difficulties of becoming a law firm owner for the first time shortly before the pandemic struck for his breaches of the accounts rules.
SRA evidence “not enough” to revive ex-managing partner’s ET claim
An employment tribunal has refused to reconsider rulings that went against a former law firm managing partner despite new evidence that undermined a key finding about his honesty.
LSB set to beef up rules on how lawyers handle complaints
Lawyers are facing beefed-up rules on dealing with complaints, and the prospect of how quickly they handle them being made public, under proposals published yesterday.
SDT grants anonymity to solicitor over drink-drive conviction
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has taken the unusual step of anonymising the identity of a solicitor appearing before it after a drink-driving conviction.
Reprimand for barrister who showed “contempt for legal process”
A barrister who made 10 meritless applications, including damages claims worth £4m against a council, and as a result was made subject to an extended civil restraint order, has been reprimanded.
BSB chief: We cannot stop review websites covering barristers
The Bar Standards Board has warned that it cannot stop the growing interest in featuring barristers on online review and comparison websites, even if the profession wants it to.
Partner rebuked for backdating documents used in divorce case
A solicitor who followed a client’s instructions to backdate a loan agreement and then did not disclose it as part of divorce proceedings has been rebuked for her “error of judgment”.
Axiom Ince stops taking new instructions as break-up looms
The end appears nigh for Axiom Ince, with the law firm admitting that it has stopped taking new instructions and will “likely be unable to continue in its current format”.
Partner lied to new firm about drink-driving convictions
A solicitor who lied to Keystone Law about drink-drive convictions as well as investigations into his conduct when he joined the listed law firm has been struck off.
Solicitor failed to spot conflict in property deals for vulnerable client
A solicitor failed to spot a conflict of interest when a vulnerable client’s attorneys bought five properties using her money but gave themselves a 50% ownership stake in each.
SRA “must look at how regulation can promote access to justice”
The SRA must explore how its work “can be used to enhance and promote access to justice”, such as by ensuring there are enough social welfare lawyers, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Suspended solicitor points finger at SRA over “administrative error”
A solicitor suspended for practising without insurance has blamed an admitted “administrative error” by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for triggering the events which led to it.
Law firm fined for paying proceeds of sale to third party
A law firm which failed to follow its internal processes and transferred the proceeds of a property sale to a third party has been fined for misconduct.
Blog
Why law firms are getting AI supervision wrong
The profession’s response to AI supervision failures misunderstands the nature of LLM output – there needs to be for a shift in the culture.
Beyond the PII premium – rethinking risk
Professional indemnity insurance renewal is often treated as an annual pricing exercise. But it is also a chance to show how effectively you identify, manage and mitigate risk.
The AI governance gap in law firms and why it matters now
A third of law firms are already using AI tools with no formal policy in place to govern how AI gets used, what data goes into it, or who’s accountable when something goes wrong.
Reports
Associates
