Compliance & Regulation
Barrister fined for racist “goat farmer” remarks
An experienced criminal law barrister has been reprimanded and fined for an “outburst of racist language” when talking to a trainee police officer.
Trainee used Home Office second job to access immigration files
A solicitor who had a second job at the Home Office while a trainee and used it to access the visa application files of clients and family members has been suspended.
Strike off for solicitor who backdated letter and blamed laptop
A solicitor has been struck off for creating letters to mislead both his opposite number and his own firm in a bid to cover up his failure to acknowledge service.
Big spike in competence-related complaints to the SRA
Reports to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about solicitors’ competence rose by 48% to over 4,000 last year, the regulator has revealed.
SDT refuses to lift conditions on “grossly negligent” solicitor
A solicitor who was suspended for a year after she was found to have been “grossly negligent” has failed in a bid to get conditions removed from her practising certificate.
Fine for barrister who “should have learnt” from previous rudeness
A barrister who should have learnt from a previous disciplinary offence that his rudeness “demeans” himself and could damage “the Bar as a whole” has been fined.
Judge “should have fined” barrister for driving death conviction
A High Court judge should not have replaced a suspension imposed by a Bar disciplinary tribunal on a barrister jailed for causing death by dangerous driving with no order at all.
Axiom Ince director struck off for amending counsel’s fee note
A former director of Axiom Ince has been struck off for amending a fee note received from counsel to give a misleading impression to his client and firm.
Law firm owner struck off over missing £450,000
A law firm owner who has cost the profession £450,000 in payouts from the SRA Compensation Fund because of money missing from client account has been struck off.
SSB boss to face Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal
The SRA has referred SSB Group co-founder Jeremy Brooke to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, some 18 months after completing its investigation into the firm’s collapse.
Menon speaks out over “chilling” contempt prosecution
The KC facing contempt of court proceedings for his closing speech has broken his silence to warn about the “chilling effect” his case is having on criminal defence lawyers.
City solicitor struck off for fraudulent bike insurance claim
A young City solicitor has been struck off for making a fraudulent insurance claim after his £1,700 bike was stolen during a house move.
Heads of terms stage “too early” to tell SRA about mergers
Law firms should not have to tell the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) about upcoming M&A activity as early as the heads of terms stage, advisers have argued.
Strike-off for solicitor who lied to firm about second job
A solicitor who lied to his law firm about moonlighting on an online platform that allows members of the public to ask lawyers questions has been struck off.
Law Society opposes SRA taking broad notification powers
The Law Society has spoken out against the Solicitors Regulation Authority having a broad power to require law firms to notify it about particular events.
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
Associates
