Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor who practised while suspended is struck off
A solicitor who practised while suspended has been struck off, while the law firm owner who unwittingly employed him received a suspended sentence.
Solicitor suspended for not disclosing own-interest conflict
A law firm owner has been suspended for not disclosing conflicts of interest to clients, including that his wife was a director of the property development company they were buying from.
Solicitors set to pay £38m towards Law Society’s representative work
Solicitors are set to pay £38m towards being represented by the Law Society after it announced plans for a 2% rise in the income it takes from the annual practising fees.
Judge “helped duty solicitor avoid security checks”
A tribunal judge who let a solicitor bypass security checks to enter a courthouse – leading to a confrontation with security staff – has been given formal advice for misconduct.
Council fines law firm for breaking law in collecting rent for clients
The First-tier Tribunal has upheld an £8,400 fine imposed on a law firm for not belonging to a client money protection scheme while collecting rent for properties owned by clients.
“You’ve put a target on my back” – Hamas barrister attacks TV presenter
The barrister acting for terror group Hamas has accused a Talk TV presenter of putting a “target on my back” by associating him with his client.
Law firm employee banned for lying to client about complaint
A law firm team manager who misled a client about the progress of his complaint rather than admit a mistake has been barred from working in the profession.
Lawyers for Hamas under spotlight over bid to remove terror label
A South London law firm representing Hamas has put itself at the centre of a political and social media storm after applying to have it removed from the list of proscribed organisations.
Legal Ombudsman increases budget further despite opposition
The Legal Ombudsman is to increase its budget by £2m or 11.4%, having received fierce criticism of its initial plan for a 10.2% rise – but it was nearly even more.
Paralegal fabricated email to cover up error
A paralegal has been banned from the profession for fabricating an email in a bid to cover up a mistake she made that led to a case being struck out.
Poor conduct of consumer claims “will see more firms collapse”
At least 15 consumer claims law firms have gone bust in the last five years owing more than £400m and poor practices in the sector will likely lead to more, a leading insurer has predicted.
Solicitor breached undertaking and loaned client cash to correct it
A solicitor who paid away proceeds of a property sale in breach of an undertaking and then loaned the client the money to make up the shortfall, has been fined for misconduct.
Regulators failing to support good-quality immigration work
Poor-quality immigration legal aid work is having “devastating consequences” for clients and better support from the Solicitors Regulation Authority would help, a report has found.
OFSI: Lawyers’ sanctions failures mainly down to licence breaches
Most sanctions non-compliance by UK legal services providers is due to breaches of Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation licence conditions, it has revealed.
Chartered legal executives could get standalone litigation rights
CILEx Regulation has launched plans for chartered legal executives to obtain standalone rights to conduct litigation without having to seek rights of audience at the same time.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
