Compliance & Regulation
SRA decides against appealing Beckwith ruling
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will not appeal the High Court decision in the Ryan Beckwith case, stressing that the ruling was confined to its facts.
Scottish solicitors criticise SRA for money laundering levy stance
The Law Society of Scotland has criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s call for the government not to exempt small law firms from paying the proposed economic crime levy.
Solicitor fined for allowing struck-off boss to remain involved at firm
A solicitor who allowed her struck-off partner to continue his involvement in their practice, and failed to obtain client consent before transferring matters to an unregulated firm, has been fined £2,000.
Small law firms should pay economic crime levy, SRA says
Small law firms should not be exempt from the economic crime levy the government wants to introduce to help tackle money laundering, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said.
University bosses eye “revolutionary” impact of SQE
One of the leading figures in legal education has hailed the introduction next year of the SQE as a “revolution”, with another saying it will break down the barriers between academia and the profession.
Solicitor agrees to leave profession over multiple AML failures
A solicitor who failed in his “basic duties” around anti-money laundering has been fined £2,000 – rather than up to £50,000 his misconduct deserved – because he has agreed to leave the profession.
Male and BAME solicitors still disproportionate focus of SRA action
Men and solicitors from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds continue to feature disproportionately in the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s enforcement work, new figures have shown.
Solicitor who lied to new employer struck off
A solicitor who lied when she told her new employer that she was not under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been struck off.
Solicitor who sold firm’s letterhead for £10 a case is struck off
A solicitor has been struck off for selling his firm’s letterhead to a company for use in compensation claims for £10 a letter where the claim was successful, along with improper transfers from client account.
SDT: No significant risk that groping ‘KKK’ solicitor will repeat conduct
There is no “significant risk” that a senior partner who did a Ku Klux Klan impersonation at his Black secretary and repeatedly groped her bottom will repeat his behaviour, the SDT has decided.
Firm fined £14,000 for conveyancing ID failures
An alternative business structure that failed to carry out sufficient identity checks on conveyancing transactions has been fined £14,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Solicitor ordered secretaries to retrospectively “witness” wills
The managing director of a law firm who ordered legal secretaries and a trainee solicitor to retrospectively “witness” wills which had already been signed by clients has been struck off.
BSB stats and Beckwith ruling put focus on misconduct outside practice
There has been a significant increase in the number of complaints about the conduct of barristers outside of practice, it has emerged, as the implications of the Beckwith ruling continue to reverberate.
Conveyancer’s shock at fraudster’s in-branch transfer from client account
A leading conveyancer has expressed his shock after a fraudster was able to transfer money from his firm’s client account at one of his bank’s branches, despite having put safeguards in place to prevent it.
Criminal solicitors billed med neg claimant £20k for “admin work”
Two criminal law solicitors who billed the victim of an attack by a psychiatric patient a total of £20,000 for what they described as “administrative services” have been fined by a tribunal.
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.
