Compliance & Regulation
Ex-law firm owner obtains freezing order against successor
The High Court has issued a freezing order against the non-lawyer owner of a law firm the SRA shut down last year, at the behest of the solicitor who sold it to her.
HOFA banned for concealing firm’s dire finances from SRA
The HOFA of a consumer claims firm that went bust in 2023 concealed its financial difficulties from the SRA in the run-up to its collapse.
SDT: Solicitor gave undertaking even if he did not call it one
An assurance given by a solicitor in a conveyancing transaction was an undertaking, even if he did not use the word, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled.
£86m of client money went through in-house solicitor’s personal account
An elderly in-house solicitor who handled reserved legal work without authorisation, and used his personal bank account to process £86m of client money, has agreed to leave the profession.
SRA: Law firm’s work for warlord was not improper
The SRA yesterday took the unusual step of setting out why it cleared the law firm which acted for Yevgeniy Prigozhin, leader of the Wagner Group, of misconduct.
Law firm avoids tribunal referral over PEP due diligence failures
A law firm that failed to conduct proper anti-money laundering checks while acting for a politically exposed person has been fined £25,000.
Tribunal clears Daily Mail sting solicitor of misconduct
One of the solicitors accused by the Daily Mail of offering to help an undercover reporter concoct a false asylum claim has been cleared of misconduct.
In-house solicitor fined for offensive nicknames and emails
A senior in-house solicitor who coined offensive nicknames for colleagues and sent sweary emails has been fined £15,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Legal threat to US firm in London over “u-turn on helping trans man”
The Good Law Project is threatening US law firm Morrison Foerster with legal action over its London office “reneging” on an agreement to represent a trans man.
SRA used “prejudicial hearsay evidence” in failed prosecution
The SRA relied on complaints by anonymous people and “a significant amount of prejudicial hearsay evidence” to support a failed prosecution against two high-profile solicitors.
City giant fined £465k for sanctions breach by Russian arm
The Russian arm of top City firm Herbert Smith Freehills has been fined £465,000 for breaching UK financial sanctions imposed on Russia.
Sidhu disbarred and attacked for “abusing power to perpetrate abuse”
The case of Jo Sidhu KC – who was disbarred yesterday – “exposes the failure of the current systems to effectively prevent sexual misconduct at the Bar”, Harriet Harman KC said yesterday.
Beringer: No rules force law firms to take on questionable clients
There are no rules that require law firms to take on clients outside of criminal work and so they need to be willing to justify their choices publicly, the former senior partner of Allen & Overy said this week.
Anti-corruption champion calls for offence targeting lawyer enablers
The Prime Minister’s anti-corruption champion last night called for a new criminal offence that would see lawyers prosecuted for failing to prevent money laundering and economic crime.
City solicitor suspended from practice for stalking conviction
A City solicitor found guilty of a low-level offence of stalking his ex-girlfriend has been suspended from the profession for six months.
Blog
The cost of systemic failure and childbirth injuries
Recent reports show that the NHS has paid almost £3.5bn in medical claims around childbirth injuries over the past six years.
Mazur: when regulators make simple things complicated
What the last six months have shown is that supervision cannot be treated as a background compliance obligation quietly managed somewhere in a firm’s operational processes.
How unstoppable AI is reshaping UK legal practice
At a time when most technology innovation still flows from the US and China, UK lawtech is attracting growing international attention and capital.
