Compliance & Regulation
Fund pays out £27m to victims of dishonest solicitors
The SRA Compensation Fund paid out £27m to the victims of solicitors’ dishonesty in its last financial year, an increase of 162% on the previous 12 months.
Solicitor offered to settle client’s complaint if they did not report firm
A solicitor who twice tried to settle a client’s complaints on condition that they not report his firm to any regulatory body has been rebuked by the SRA, one of several sanctions it has handed out.
Number of SRA investigations lasting more than a year hits 1,000
The SRA has set out plans to reverse the increase in the time it takes to investigate complaints, after the number of cases open for more than 12 months topped 1,000 last year.
Regulator probes law firms accused in Parliament over oligarch work
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has started visiting law firms named in Parliament amid concerns about their work for Russian oligarchs, it has emerged.
SRA rebukes leading class action firm over conduct of struck-out claim
Class action firm Hausfeld has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for allowing its independence to be compromised in the conduct of a massive group claim.
Mid-tier law firms “rubbing hands with glee” at new oligarch clients
Mid-tier London law firms are “rubbing their hands with glee” at an influx of new oligarch clients turned away by the big City firms, a leading media lawyer has claimed.
SDT “does not have power” to revoke s43 orders made by SRA
Non-solicitors banned from working in law firms by the Solicitors Regulation Authority cannot apply for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to revoke the order, the tribunal has decided.
BSB scraps student aptitude test despite Bar Council opposition
The Bar Standards Board is to ditch the Bar course aptitude test as it is no longer acting as a “filter” of those likely to fail the vocational component of their training.
Legal regulators should not be “overly risk averse” about technology
Legal regulators must not be “overly risk adverse” in supporting the use of technology, given its importance, a senior figure at the Legal Services Board has said.
BSB panel rejects complaints over barrister’s Royal baby tweets
A Bar Standards Board panel has rejected more than 80 complaints made against a barrister accused of making racist comments on Twitter about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s baby last year.
Ex-Law Society president fails in bid to strike out SDT case
David Greene, the former president of the Law Society, has failed in his attempt to halt a private prosecution of him at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, although its scope has been narrowed.
GPs attack “bullying” solicitors over Covid exemption letters
The British Medical Association has accused solicitors of bullying GPs by threatening legal action if the doctor does not provide a Covid vaccination exemption for their client.
Council lawyer lied about husband’s company to get invoices paid
An in-house solicitor at Corby Borough Council who lied about giving work to her husband’s company in a bid to have two invoices paid has been struck off.
Digital ID tools “do not breach legal services regulation”
Solicitors should not view digital identity verification as a second-best option after traditional manual checks, according to a joint statement by LawtechUK and the legal regulators.
Barrister sanctioned for “offensive” Muslim tweet wins appeal
A Bar Standards Board panel applied too low a threshold in sanctioning a barrister for a tweet about Muslims that it said would cause offence, a tribunal has ruled.
Blog
Our vision for 2026: A shared approach to AML
We want to see law firms start taking AML compliance as seriously as it deserves. This means treating it not as a tick-box exercise or a procedural necessity, but as a serious part of company culture.
Why later-life divorce requires a distinct professional framework
Later-life divorce, often described as ‘silver splitter’ or ‘grey divorce’ cases, is no longer a marginal feature of family law practice. It challenges long-standing assumptions about how divorce work is done.
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
