Compliance & Regulation
Advice on conduct of litigation was not clear enough, LSB finds
Some of the information provided to lawyers over the years about the conduct of litigation was not clear enough, the Legal Services Board has concluded.
SQE delivering diverse cohort of students, figures show
The Solicitors Qualifying Examination is attracting a diverse range of candidates, with 35% from an ethnic minority and 37% from ‘less privileged’ backgrounds.
High Court rejects law firm’s challenge to costly LeO decision
The High Court has refused a law firm permission to challenge a decision of the Legal Ombudsman which cost it over £115,000 in compensation and reduced costs.
SRA issues ‘no win, no fee’ warning to counter poor behaviour
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has issued a warning notice on the use of ‘no win, no fee’ agreements in high-volume consumer claims amid multiple concerns about their misuse.
SDT draws line where solicitors should stop acting for clients
Doubts about a client’s truthfulness is not a good reason for solicitors to stop acting, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has stressed.
SRA ordered to pay solicitor £50k in costs after failed prosecution
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been ordered to pay a solicitor exonerated by a disciplinary tribunal £50,000 in costs.
GCs call on Law Society to withdraw whistleblowing guidance
A network of female general counsel has called on the Law Society to withdraw whistleblowing guidance for in-house lawyers, arguing that it “entrenches the longstanding bias against reporting”.
Strike off for solicitor who told colleague to lie
A family law solicitor who asked a newly qualified legal executive to lie to a litigant in person, having already lied to him herself, has been struck off.
Partner used client money to pay his tax bill
A partner at a London law firm responsible for dozens of unauthorised transfers from client account worth nearly £1.2m – in part to pay his tax bill – has been struck off.
Treasury urged to exempt conveyancers from tax adviser registration
The government has been urged to reconsider plans to make conveyancers register individually with HM Revenue & Customs as tax advisers because they deal with SDLT.
Head of property certified ID documents without seeing them
The head of commercial property at a law firm who certified a client’s ID documents as true and complete copies without seeing the originals has been struck off.
Lawyers back High Court decision on Zahawi solicitor
Lawyers have welcomed the High Court decision to overturn the finding of misconduct against Nadeem Zahawi’s lawyer – but Dan Neidle calls it surprising and concerning.
High Court overturns Zahawi solicitor misconduct finding
The High Court has overturned the finding of misconduct made about the solicitor for former Conservative Chancellor Nadeem Zahawi.
Ex-cabinet minister named Bar’s first Commissioner for Conduct
Former Conservative cabinet minister Dame Maria Miller – who used to chair Parliament’s women and equalities committee – has been named the Bar’s first ever Commissioner for Conduct.
No plans to review regulation of estate planning, says minister
The government has no plans to review the regulation of estate planning and trust-selling practices in the wake of the collapse of Anglo-Scottish law firm McClure, a justice minister has said.
Blog
The AI governance gap in law firms and why it matters now
A third of law firms are already using AI tools with no formal policy in place to govern how AI gets used, what data goes into it, or who’s accountable when something goes wrong.
Information isn’t oversight – lessons from the PM Law review
The PM Law review’s real findings perhaps point to a failure mode applying to any organisation sitting on scattered risk information.
AI can do the work but it cannot inherit the lawyer’s duty
What happens when lawyers delegate cognitive work to AI but remain personally responsible for judgements they may no longer have independently reasoned through?
Reports
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