Compliance & Regulation
Reduce AML officers’ billable targets, regulator tells firms
Firms should relieve lawyers who hold their anti-money laundering compliance roles of some of their fee-earning workload and consider appointing deputies too, the SRA has said.
SRA and Law Society clash again over scrapping Solicitors Indemnity Fund
The Law Society has strongly attacked plans unveiled yesterday by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to scrap the Solicitors Indemnity Fund, which provides cover for post-run-off negligence claims.
Compensation fund pays out £600,000 to clients of dishonest solicitor
A solicitor whose misconduct has led to the SRA Compensation Fund paying out nearly £600,000 to his former conveyancing clients has been struck off.
Solicitor suspended for “dumping” hours on file to meet billing targets
A solicitor who “dumped” hundreds of hours of unjustified time on a largely completed file in a bid to meet his billing targets has been suspended for nine months.
Solicitor struck off for lying in job interview about previous sacking
An experienced solicitor who told a prospective employer that she was still in work, when in fact her former firm had sacked her several months earlier, has been struck off.
SRA tries again to increase fining powers – this time to £25,000
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has launched its latest effort to expand its fining powers, this time looking to increase the current £2,000 maximum to £25,000.
Law firm closures fall during Covid but support scheme abuses emerge
Law firm closures and interventions have fallen during the pandemic, but it has had negative effects too, such as abuse of government funding schemes, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.
Solicitors rebuked for frying pan attack and non-disclosure agreement
A solicitor who hit a person around the head with a frying pan, and another who tried to use a settlement agreement to prevent disclosures to HMRC, have been rebuked.
Lawyer faces jail for contempt after failing to hand over files to SRA
A lawyer who failed to comply with court orders to hand over his firm’s files to the Solicitors Regulation Authority is facing possible jail time after being found in contempt.
Regulator presses Simplify to help clients change conveyancer
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers is pressing the Simplify group to reach a position where it can provide its files to clients who wish to change lawyer following the recent cyber-attack.
Consumer panel and Bar Council at odds over future of aptitude test
The evidence for abolishing the Bar course aptitude test is “compelling” as it has failed to achieve its purpose, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.
Tribunal: Barrister’s ‘fundamentally dishonest’ claim was not fraudulent
A barrister found to have brought a fundamentally dishonest personal injury claim was not disbarred after a tribunal did not accept that his case was actually fraudulent.
Solicitor who used client account like a “piggy bank” is struck off
A solicitor who plundered her client account to meet her personal financial obligations and her ex-partner’s car debts has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Conveyancing giant told to improve communication after cyber-attack
The country’s largest conveyancing group has been told by its regulator to improve communication with clients in the wake of a paralysing cyber-attack this week.
“Significant weaknesses” in legal regulators’ approach to money laundering
There are “differing levels of achievement and some significant weaknesses” among the UK’s legal regulators in their approach to anti-money laundering, their oversight body has reported.
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.
