Compliance & Regulation

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Most sanctions non-compliance by UK legal services providers is due to breaches of Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation licence conditions, it has revealed.

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.

An assistant solicitor whose failure to comply with an undertaking in a property transaction cost his firm’s insurer £440,000 has been fined £5,500.

A chartered legal executive who fabricated court pleadings, expert reports and letters from third parties has been disqualified from working for solicitors’ firms.

Solicitors need to have confidence that they will be treated fairly by their regulator if they are to be encouraged to admit errors, a former partner suspended for misconduct has argued.