Compliance & Regulation

Disgraced human rights lawyer Phil Shiner will have to wait nearly two years for his trial on four allegations of fraud, the Crown Court said on Friday.

An “old school” solicitor in his late 70s who overcharged three estates and a trust by nearly £500,000 to provide cash flow for his firm has been struck off.

Solicitors are to pay an extra £1.2m towards the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal in 2023 after its existing landlord pulled the offer of a new lease, meaning it will have to relocate.

A solicitor who was convicted of drug-driving and possession of cocaine, MDMA and cannabis has been fined £10,000, while another has been rebuked after being convicted of dangerous driving.

A law firm that at different times acted for either side of a development agreement it drafted, including on a dispute between the two parties, has been fined by the SRA.

It is “highly over-optimistic” to think the Legal Services Act will be reformed or replaced by the government in the next couple of years, the chief executive of the Legal Services Board has warned.

The High Court has rejected an appeal from a struck-off solicitor whose application to be restored to the roll was refused by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal earlier this year.

A law firm owner and his practice manager have both been fined for mismanaging legal aid funds, although a tribunal found they were “honourably motivated”.

Solicitors have been accused of visiting vulnerable patients in hospital wards in Leeds and “coercing” them into signing legal documents.

SRA plans to double the upper limit on fines for law firms to 5% of turnover and to £805,000 for individuals are “excessive and unjustified”, the Law Society has argued.

Complaints to a lawyer’s employer and professional regulator can amount to acts of stalking, the Court of Appeal has ruled in a case where a senior government lawyer was targeted.

A very experienced solicitor who showed a “complete blind spot” with regard to his obligations to ‘know your client’ and recognise the risks of conveyancing fraud has been suspended for a year.

A criminal solicitor who helped out a friend in a family law dispute pro bono has been fined £40,000 for how he conducted the case, which “detrimentally impacted” all those involved.

Listed practice DWF has bought a law firm in Vancouver, Canada for £28m, a deal only allowed by its local law society with conditions that ensure local lawyers retain control.

Law firms appear to be warding off cyber-attacks more successfully, with client losses falling to £700,000 in the first 10 months of this year, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.