Compliance & Regulation

A solicitor who told a trainee to draft an “incorrect and misleading” defence to an unpaid fees claim from a barrister – which ignored his firm’s liability for the money – has been fined £7,500.

Lawyers at incorporated law firms should not give personal undertakings even though the corporate undertakings are not enforceable, the Law Society has said.

A solicitor who made false and misleading statements on applications for professional indemnity insurance has been struck off and ordered to pay costs of over £124,000.

CILEx Regulation could take legal action following the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ announcement that it is talking to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about becoming its regulator.

The Legal Ombudsman is on course to meet its goal of halving the backlog of cases waiting for investigation by March 2023, with its output increasing significantly, the chief ombudsman has said.

Solicitors responding to ‘one-off’ requests for information or advice from former or potential clients need to identify the limits of their engagement to avoid negligence claims, the Court of Appeal has warned.

The Chartered Institute of Legal Executives has begun formal talks with the Solicitors Regulation Authority about taking over the regulation of its members.

The SDT has decided not to sanction a solicitor who threatened his former law firm with blowing the whistle on alleged legal aid contract breaches if it did not withdraw a complaint about him.

The attainment gap between ethnic minority and White students in the centrally assessed modules of the Bar professional training course had a higher impact on pass rates.

Regulatory initiatives to encourage consumers to shop around, such as making it easier for them to compare prices, are starting to pay off, according to the Legal Services Consumer Panel.

A partner who billed for her time ‘considering’ matters but did not detail in attendance notes what she had actually done has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

“Radical thinking” is needed by the Bar Standards Board to get a grip on the growing backlog of investigations and poor performance on timeliness, board members have said.

The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has warned firms about the importance of proper file storage and data retention, after a licensed conveyancer abandoned 15,000 archived files.

The Bar Council and Law Society have attacked proposed Legal Services Board changes to way it assesses frontline regulators’ performance.

A solicitor convicted in Germany of seven counts of aiding and abetting tax evasion as part of a VAT carousel fraud has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.