Compliance & Regulation
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.
Second paralegal at firm banned for falsifying time records
A second paralegal working at National Accident Law has been banned from the profession for charging clients for more calls than she actually made.
Non-practising barrister fined for calling herself “barrister-at-law”
A non-practising barrister has been reprimanded and fined for describing herself as a “barrister at law” on emails and telling a client she could represent her.
Sister and brother struck off for work on dubious investment schemes
A sister and brother have been struck off as solicitors for putting their own financial interests ahead of clients who lost money in dubious parking space and storage pod investment schemes.
LegalZoom is first business to have ABSs in England and the US
LegalZoom has become the first business to have an alternative business structure license in both the US and England and Wales after winning approval in the pioneering state of Arizona.
Scotland mulls single regulator for all lawyers
The possibility of a single regulator for all lawyers in Scotland – and the title of ‘lawyer’ having statutory protection – is being canvassed by the Scottish government.
SRA bans non-solicitors for theft, fabrication and forgery
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has banned a string of non-solicitors from working in the profession for dishonesty, including theft of electronic devices, fabricating letters and faking a client’s signature.
Solicitor misled own relatives about their conveyancing fees
A conveyancing solicitor who misled clients he was related on how their fees would be calculated has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Blog
The trade-off mid-sized firm partners think they’re making
Most of the partners I talk to describe the same tension. They want the firm to run efficiently and hit its numbers, but they also want their people to feel supported, developed and fairly treated.
Communication as the core of client care in conveyancing
How a conveyancer approaches client care – particularly in relation to communication – can be the greatest differentiator for the success of a conveyancing firm.
Why brilliant lawyers sometimes fail
A question that often strikes a chord with partners in law firms is this: why is it that individuals who excel in one role sometimes struggle when promoted into another?
Reports
Associates
