Compliance & Regulation
Conveyancer cleared after exchanging contracts on day of instruction
A solicitor has been cleared of misconduct when acting on the exchange of contracts for an elderly client’s property on the same day he was instructed.
SDT’s cost to the profession set to fall next year
The Legal Services Board has approved a reduced budget for the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal of just over £3m for 2026, a drop of 2.5% from this year.
CILEX applies to appeal Mazur ruling
CILEX has applied for permission to appeal to the Court of Appeal against the Mazur judgment, even though it was not a party to the original case, it announced today.
Solicitor struck off for misconduct as company director
A solicitor who provided false information to a loan company in his capacity as a company director has been struck off, as his actions crossed into professional misconduct.
Partners give SRA undertakings over clearing residual balances
A law firm that continued to allow residual balances to accrue on dozens of files for nearly a decade, even after being warned by the SRA, has been rebuked.
Suspension for solicitor who recruited disbarred barrister fraudster
A veteran solicitor “duped” when recruiting a disbarred barrister with a fraud conviction – having not checked his background – has been suspended for 18 months.
SRA closes down practice of leading sports lawyer
The Solicitors Regulation Authority yesterday closed down the practice of a high-profile sports lawyer who has acted for the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Tyson Fury.
Volume litigation and law firm consolidators on LSB’s agenda
Volume litigation, consolidator law firms and unregulated legal service providers are the focus of a new consumer protection programme launched by the Legal Services Board.
CAT strikes out challenge to Scottish Bar rules
The Competition Appeal Tribunal has struck out a challenge to the rules of the Faculty of Advocates, the Scottish Bar, over a restriction on who can instruct barristers.
KC: Law of agency and delegation could help challenge Mazur
The “basic principles of agency and delegation” could be used to argue that the Mazur judgment was wrongly decided, a KC and judge has suggested.
Solicitor suspended for hiding firm’s financial problems from SRA
A law firm partner who failed to disclose to the Solicitors Regulation Authority that her firm was facing a winding-up petition has been suspended for three months.
FCA to have extensive powers over lawyers in AML role
Deeper checks of law firm owners and the ability to bring criminal prosecutions are among the powers proposed for the FCA once it takes over supervising lawyers’ AML activities.
Court to rule on SRA’s powers to see privileged material
The High Court is set to decide on whether the Solicitors Regulation Authority has the power it claims to examine legally privileged material as part of investigations.
SDT clears solicitor of dishonesty over costs claim
A solicitor accused of dishonestly seeking more costs than his client was entitled to claim has been cleared by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
SRA belatedly publishes restrictions placed on Mazur lawyer
The fee-earner at the heart of the Mazur ruling is a ‘senior litigation executive’ who was suspended indefinitely as a solicitor 17 years ago, the SRA has revealed.
Blog
What high-performing consumer claims firms get right
Recurring concerns about parts of the volume claims sector show that the gap between well-run firms and those struggling to manage volume effectively is widening.
The SRA’s 2025 AML report: What law firms need to know
The SRA has released its 2024-25 anti-money laundering report and the scale of supervision is striking – it carried out 935 proactive engagements in the year to 5 April 2025.
The managing partner in 2026: skills, security and strategic technology
The legal sector stands at a pivotal moment. The pace of technological change is accelerating, cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, and client expectations are higher than ever.
