Compliance & Regulation


The SIF lives on – SRA gives fund yet another stay of execution

12 April 2022

The Solicitors Indemnity Fund – which was first due to close in 2017 – has been given another stay of execution and will now go on to September 2023, a year later than the SRA had planned.


SDT fines veteran solicitor for multiple accounts rules breaches

12 April 2022

A veteran solicitor whose carelessness and ignorance of the accounts rules led to multiple breaches has been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.


SRA decides against retrial of junior solicitor who left case on train

11 April 2022

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has ended proceedings against the junior solicitor initially struck off after she left confidential documents on a train.


Barrister’s treatment of more junior opponent “verged on bullying”

11 April 2022

The behaviour of the barrister who called her more junior opponent a liar before an employment tribunal and mimicked her voice verged on bullying, a disciplinary panel has decided.


Law Society looks to boost income by £8.4m through PC fee rises

11 April 2022

The Law Society is planning to increase the cost of practising to boost its income by £8.4m over the next three years as it bids to make itself “indispensable” to members.


House of Lords ratchets up pressure on SRA over SLAPPs

11 April 2022

Peers have asked the Solicitors Regulation Authority whether it plans to reopen complaints about law firms involved in strategic lawsuits against public participation.


Fund pays out £27m to victims of dishonest solicitors

8 April 2022

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

8 April 2022

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

7 April 2022

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

6 April 2022

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

5 April 2022

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

5 April 2022

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

4 April 2022

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

1 April 2022

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

31 March 2022

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.

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Blog


The SRA and privileged material – this is not the end

All disclosure to the SRA must now exclude privileged material, which will not only hamper investigations but also cause additional work for firms providing disclosure.


Legal Ombudsman fee reforms risk widening the justice gap

Charging firms simply because a complaint moves through the process weakens the present connection between fees and fault. It could also encourage firms to settle for commercial reasons.


Why upfront information could transform home buying

The success of upfront property information will depend on more than simply making the information available.