Compliance & Regulation

A former solicitor, labelled a “dishonest crook, swindler and cheat” by a Crown Court judge 14 years ago after being convicted of assisting illegal immigration, will not be returning to practice.

UK law firms will be unable to provide “transactional legal advisory services” to Russians after the government ratcheted up the sanctions regime yet further.

A solicitor panicked after realising she had missed a court deadline and under-settled her client’s personal injury claim before leading them on for more than four years about its progress.

The Bar Standards Board has pushed back the deadlines set for clearing backlogs in its handling of misconduct reports and authorisations.

Lawyers are not “neutral technicians” and “cannot hide from responsibility for what clients do with the legal advice they provide”, a leading legal academic has warned.

The introduction of alternative business structures in two US states is “spurring innovation”, the first research into the initiatives has found – but how reform is introduced matters.

The Bar Standards Board is planning a “statement of consolidated good practice” for chambers, which sets out how to go “above and beyond” the minimum regulatory requirements.

An experienced private client lawyer who backdated his client’s signature on lasting powers of attorney has been banned from working for law firms.

The Law Society and Bar Council have expressed concern about new economic crime provisions put forward by the government that target the legal profession.

A law firm with a “failing” anti-money laundering control environment, leading to multiple rule breaches, has been fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has granted a law firm access to papers from a recent case to help legal action being taken against the solicitor it struck off.

An explicit requirement on licensed conveyancers to treat customers fairly has been proposed as part of a new statement of ethical principles by their regulator.

Plans to remove the £25,000 cap on fines the Solicitors Regulation Authority can impose in cases of economic crime will enable it to sanction larger law firms properly, the government said.

Four lawyer review and comparison websites have agreed to join a Bar Standards Board (BSB) pilot on whether they can work for barristers and their consumers.

An IT engineer with a serious gambling problem who stole 38 iPhones and 10 laptops worth £23,000 from a law firm has been banned from working in the profession.