Compliance & Regulation
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.
Assistant solicitor fined for costly undertaking failures
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.
Ban for legal executive who fabricated admissions and pleadings
A chartered legal executive who fabricated court pleadings, expert reports and letters from third parties has been disqualified from working for solicitors’ firms.
SRA uses settlement agreements “to put pressure on solicitors”
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.
Top employment solicitor hits out at conduct of big City law firms
A leading employment lawyer has hit out at the conduct of some law firms when negotiating non-disclosure agreements for employers.
Blog
From ‘year zero’ to £6.5m – how a law firm found its second life
In 2018, I hit what I call ‘year zero’. On paper, Olliers Solicitors was a top-tier criminal defence firm but beneath the surface, I could see we were at a crossroads.
Linklaters’ chief growth officer takes the ‘blank sheet’ challenge
In the third and final part of this series, Lucy Murphy, chief growth officer at magic circle firm Linklaters, outlines her vision for the law firm of the future.
The ‘blank sheet’ challenge, part 2 – what would you do differently?
In the second part of this blog series, Shainul Kassam, managing director of small London firm Fortune Law, sets out how she would set up a law firm now.
