Compliance & Regulation
LSB: Regulatory action needed to tackle law’s diversity problems
The profession has failed to make “significant progress in tackling the structural and cultural barriers to encouraging equality and diversity”, the LSB has declared.
SRA to quiz volume claims firms about compliance
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to demand assurances from firms conducting volume consumer claims that they are meeting their professional obligations.
TPMAs “could help” law firms, says National Risk Assessment
The emergence of third-party managed accounts “may, in time, reduce” the risk of law firms’ client accounts being used by criminals for money laundering, the government said yesterday.
BSB clears silk over Supreme Court trans ruling criticism
The Bar Standards Board has rejected a complaint against high-profile KC Jolyon Maugham over his criticism of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the For Women Scotland case.
Law firm COO used company credit card for £300k of personal spend
The chief operating officer of a law firm found to have used her company credit card for £300,000 of personal expenses has been disqualified from working in the profession.
Legal regulators advise MPs on changing code of conduct
The chief executives of the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board yesterday recommended MPs adopt a principles-based approach to regulating outside interests.
Firms, not solicitors, to feel impact of 11% rise in cost of practising
The cost of practising as a solicitor is set to increase by 11%, or £16.6m, in the next year, although the financial impact will be felt by firms rather than individuals.
Disciplinary tribunal fines law firm £58,000 for AML breaches
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has fined an East London law firm £58,000 for anti-money laundering rule breaches over a six-year period.
Big rise in complaints about SRA’s handling of intervention files
The number of clients complaining to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about its failure to retrieve their documents after it shut down a firm has shot up by over 50%.
Law firm named by LeO hits out at “egregious” decision
One of the law firms named by the Legal Ombudsman in the first three full findings it has published has described the decision to do so as “egregious”.
Chambers distances itself from barrister over aggressive tweets
Garden Court Chambers has distanced itself from comments made by a pro-Palestinian member, which included him telling one X user to “Get my name out of your mouth, fascist-Zionist scum”.
More consumers than ever choosing unbundled services
The proportion of consumers choosing unbundled legal services has hit its highest ever rate at just over a fifth, according to research for the Legal Services Consumer Panel.
LeO names firms “in public interest” as it publishes first full decisions
The Legal Ombudsman has published three of its final decisions in full for the first time, including the names of the firms involved, arguing that the move increases transparency.
Infected blood inquiry urges SRA to crack down on ‘no win, no fee’ offers
The head of the infected blood inquiry yesterday called on the SRA to tell solicitors that they should not be charging clients making a claim for compensation.
Paralegal rebuked for £1.85m payment error
A senior paralegal has been rebuked for wrongly requesting the release of at least £1.85m to a property developer which later went bust, leaving his law firm to repay buyers.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
