Compliance & Regulation
SRA needs “radical rethink” to change disproportionate focus on BAME solicitors
The Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to rethink its approach radically to tackle the “grimly entrenched” problem of ethnic minority solicitors being over-represented in its enforcement work.
BSB signals tougher approach to transparency rules compliance
Approaching one in 10 chambers admit failing to comply with the Bar Standards Board’s service and price transparency rules, with the regulator now set to toughen up its approach to enforcement.
High Court orders solicitor to hand over firm’s files to SRA
The High Court has ordered a high-profile solicitor to surrender her firm’s files after the Solicitors Regulation Authority closed it down but she refused to co-operate.
Economic crime levy “could impact law firm structures”
Some law firms may have to make structural changes to ameliorate the impact of the government’s economic crime levy, solicitors have warned.
Legal regulators slammed for “lacking expertise” on comparison data
Data already in the public domain cannot easily be adapted to help consumers choose a lawyer, mainly due to failings by legal regulators, according to research.
SDT releases Ecohouse documents to campaign group
The Transparency Task Force has been granted access to a limited number of documents used in Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal hearings relating to a collapsed Brazilian property investment scheme.
Bar students need more pupillage data to avoid “buyer’s remorse”
Bar students should be given detailed information from chambers about their pupillage criteria to avoid suffering from “buyer’s remorse” when they realise how difficult it is to succeed.
SRA sends police money laundering reports linked to £180m of funds
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has almost quadrupled the number of suspicious activity reports it sends to the police about possible money laundering by law firms.
Unbundled family law service to expand as SRA eyes pilot
A pilot version of an unbundled family law service for litigants in person has enabled them to save 70% on legal fees and is to be expanded; meanwhile, the SRA is to run its own unbundling pilot.
High Court rejects appeal from sham marriages solicitor
The High Court has rejected an appeal from a solicitor struck off after being recorded by an undercover TV reporter giving advice on what he knew was a sham marriage.
London law firm launches novel association with Italian MDP
An English law firm and an Italian multi-disciplinary practice offering accounting, tax and unreserved legal services have formed a novel association to assist each other’s clients.
New ABS regulator grants first licence to lifetime planning business
CILEx Regulation has become the sixth body to license an alternative business structure after approving an application from lifetime planning and bereavement firm Trust Inheritance.
Students used by law firm for agency advocacy are ‘workers’
A Bar student who handled agency advocacy work through a law firm was a worker with certain rights and not self-employed, an employment tribunal has ruled.
Jail sentence for barrister guilty of child sex offences
A barrister who travelled across the country with the intention of sexually abusing teenage girls – unaware that they were not real – has been jailed for three and a half years.
Nearly 1,200 students sign up to first SQE sitting
Nearly 1,200 people have signed up to take the first ever Solicitors Qualifying Examination assessment in November, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed.
Blog
Beyond PCP: Can regulators and lawyers work better together next time?
Nearly a decade after the Financial Conduct Authority began investigating the car finance industry, the story of the PCP commission scandal is still unfinished.
Accountability has to live within governance, not with one person
The assumption has long been that a COLP or COFA is personally exposed to the consequences of anti-money laundering breaches.
The SRA’s client money reforms: good intentions, questionable execution
On the face of it, the SRA’s plans to tighten protections around client money sounds sensible. The detail, as ever, tells a more complicated story.
