Compliance & Regulation
Paralegal rebuked for £1.85m payment error
A senior paralegal has been rebuked for wrongly requesting the release of at least £1.85m to a property developer which later went bust, leaving his law firm to repay buyers.
High-profile non-lawyer firm owner disqualified by SRA
The man who founded now-defunct Stobart Barristers and then bought two well-known criminal law firms has been disqualified from running a law firm in future.
Engine of change – Philip’s new role as he heads to SRA exit
The outgoing chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has lined up his first non-executive role by joining the board of the Institute of the Motor Industry.
NDAs to cover up harassment and discrimination “will be void”
The government is to ban non-disclosure agreements covering harassment and discrimination unless the victim themselves asks for one.
Young barrister reprimanded for throwing bottle in bar
A barrister has been reprimanded following her conviction for throwing a bottle at another woman in a Nottingham cocktail bar.
Solicitor tried to stop counterpart reporting breach of undertaking
A solicitor who breached an undertaking and then tried to stop his opposite number reporting him to the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been struck off.
Solicitor acting for Hamas ditches “traditional law firm model”
Riverway Law, the law firm representing terror group Hamas, has closed down in its current form and is set to reappear as the legal arm of a movement called Riverway to the Sea.
BSB lays out reforms to speed up disciplinary cases
Major changes to the way in which barristers are disciplined – enabling cases to move faster through the process – have been laid out by the Bar Standards Board.
Barrister filmed drinking brandy in car during trial lunch break
A high-profile criminal barrister filmed drinking brandy while sitting in his car during a break in a case has been fined £3,000 by a disciplinary tribunal.
Caseworker fails again to overturn SRA ban
The SDT has rejected the latest attempt by an immigration caseworker to overturn an order imposed by the SRA controlling his work in the profession.
Gender and ethnicity pay gap among barristers widens
The gender and ethnicity pay gaps at the Bar remains substantial and have actually widened a little over the past three years, according to Bar Standards Board research.
LSB chief executive steps down after less than year in post
The Legal Services Board is to be without a permanent chief executive as well as chair after announcing yesterday that Craig Westwood is to leave the oversight regulator.
Conditions imposed on Cameron’s role as DLA Piper adviser
There are “clear guardrails” in place to ensure that Lord David Cameron’s new role as a consultant to global law firm DLA Piper will not involve contact with the UK government.
SRA and BSB pledge to help subpostmasters with legal fees concerns
Legal regulators have pledged to help subpostmasters concerned about fees being charged by lawyers in their claims for compensation over the Post Office Horizon scandal.
Fine for solicitor who failed to engage with SRA and LeO
A solicitor who failed to engage with SRA and Legal Ombudsman investigations – leading to the issue of a statutory notice – has been fined for misconduct.
Blog
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
The SRA’s 2025 AML report: What law firms need to know
The SRA has released its 2024-25 anti-money laundering report and the scale of supervision is striking – it carried out 935 proactive engagements in the year to 5 April 2025.
