Compliance & Regulation
Male barrister disbarred for sexually harassing woman at social events
A male barrister who sexually harassed the same woman at two different social events has been disbarred by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.
Solicitor who criticised “draconian” strike-off cannot return to roll
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has refused a solicitor’s bid to be restored to the roll just three years after being struck off for dishonesty.
Legal Services Board sets out scope of Mazur review
The Legal Services Board is to probe “the scale and impact” of breaches of the right to conduct litigation in the wake of the Mazur ruling.
Consultancy for law firms and investors spins out of City practice
A specialist strategic consultancy advising lawyers, investors and regulators has spun out of a City law firm as demand for help in navigating the legal market grows.
Law firms disagree on what should be considered a complaint
Law firms are divided over what should be regarded as a complaint from clients, a survey by the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Judge slashes law firm’s costs because of Mazur
A regional costs judge has described how he applied the ruling in Mazur to cut the costs awarded to a law firm in a housing possession case from £3,000 to less than £500.
Pioneering AI law firm untroubled by impact of Mazur
The Mazur ruling will have no impact on the work of the first regulated AI law firm as the technology is not conducting litigation, its founder has asserted.
SSB Law victims pile pressure on SRA over other volume claims firms
The collapse of SSB Law was not a one-off and a wider review of the SRA’s handling of volume claims firms is needed, victims of the scandal have argued.
Law firm boss struck off for using client money to pay debts
A law firm owner who used client money to shore up his firm and pay personal debts in the face of cash flow problems has been struck off.
Give facts not suspicions when whistleblowing, in-house lawyers told
In-house lawyers considering whistleblowing have been advised by the Law Society to “disclose specific information with factual content, not suspicions or unfounded allegations”.
SDT distinguishes its definition of dishonesty from the court’s
A solicitor found to have been fundamentally dishonest in a personal injury claim has been cleared of dishonesty by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
Is AML move the first step towards single legal regulator?
The government’s decision to rationalise the oversight of AML supervision could be a precursor to the entirety of legal regulation, a leading practitioner has suggested.
KC: Regulators should promise no action over pre-Mazur breaches
Regulators should assure non-authorised people who may have inadvertently conducted litigation as found by Mazur that they will not face criminal prosecution or disciplinary action.
SDT removes restrictions on solicitor turned compliance consultant
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has removed restrictions on a solicitor who, after being suspended for three years, became a compliance consultant.
SRA: Client account “still on reform agenda”
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has not kicked changes to client account – and the interest solicitors earn on it – into the long grass, its chair warned solicitors yesterday.
Blog
Change in regulator shouldn’t make AML less of a priority
While SRA fines for AML have been climbing, many in the profession aren’t confident they will get any relief from the FCA, a body used to dealing with a highly regulated industry.
There are 17 million wills waiting to be written
The main reason cited by people who do not have a will was a lack of awareness as to how to arrange one. As a professional community, we seem to be failing to get our message across.
The case for a single legal services regulator: why the current system is failing
From catastrophic firm collapses to endemic compliance failures, the evidence is mounting that the current multi-regulator model is fundamentally broken.
