Compliance & Regulation

Nearly one in three barristers have personal experience of bullying, harassment and/or discrimination in the past two years, Bar Council research has revealed.

The government has rejected a call from the Solicitors Regulation Authority that small law firms should have to pay its new economic crime levy.

More than 10% of law firms whose compliance with anti-money laundering rules was checked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority in the last year have been referred for investigation

A “patronising” solicitor who made multiple “racially, ethnically or religiously motivated comments” to young women at an event – whom he later accused of being ‘woke’ – has been struck off.

The Bar Standards Board, the Solicitors Regulation Authority and CILEx Regulation have joined forces in a bid to improve the standard of practice in coroner’s courts.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned that interim compensation funds put in place by two of the smaller legal regulators could be quickly “wiped out”.

An employment tribunal has refused to strike out a claim that a chambers discriminated against a pupillage applicant who had previous dealings with the QC who headed the pupillage committee.

Decisions on the regulation of solicitors will be made by just nine people from next year, the smallest the board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has ever been.

A solicitor who overcharged a client for their stamp duty and paid the excess to an unknown third party has been struck off. He also lied to the SRA about his whereabouts to avoid answering its questions.

A solicitor who received a suspended prison sentence for dangerous driving after hitting a telegraph pole as well as multiple parked cars has been fined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

A solicitor trying to challenge disciplinary action taken against him by the Law Society 15 years ago has failed in a bid to have an employment tribunal intervene on the grounds of discrimination.

A law firm owner who ignored anti-money laundering responsibilities – and even overrode a negative due diligence check – has been banned from holding compliance roles.

A junior solicitor who targeted MPs and a government advisor with “offensive, derogatory and inappropriate” tweets has been fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority and Costs Lawyer Standards Board have both won grants from the government’s Regulators Pioneer Fund to run projects encouraging innovation.

A trainee solicitor who lied about the work he had done covering for a colleague who was on annual leave has been banned from working in the profession.