Compliance & Regulation
Compulsory ethics discussions “risk becoming another box to tick”
Solicitors Regulation Authority plans for solicitors to attend compulsory three-hour ethics discussions “could lead to a ‘box-ticking’ approach”, academics have warned.
SRA warns profession over AI misuse amidst investigations
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has “a number of ongoing investigations” into the possible misuse of AI after receiving 42 reports in the past year.
LSB approves separation of compliance and management roles
The Legal Services Board has approved rule changes to separate law firm managers who can “unilaterally” make decisions from compliance officer roles in all but the smallest firms.
Barrister recorded court hearings and made fun of ex-employee
A barrister who made illicit audio recordings of court hearings in family proceedings has been disbarred, after her second disciplinary tribunal appearance in five years.
Legal consultant to chambers challenges contempt referral
A legal consultant to a barristers’ chambers referred by a High Court judge to the Attorney General for possible contempt of court proceedings has filed an appeal.
Unregulated divorce service poised to launch law firm
Divorce and separation service amicable – which markets itself as an alternative to solicitors – is to enter regulation for the first time by setting up its own law firm.
Law firm directors struck off for misusing client account money
Two directors of a City law firm have been struck off for acting dishonestly in making an unauthorised payment from client account of almost £95,000 to a third party.
SRA and FCA “need statutory powers” to view privileged material
The government needs to give both the SRA and FCA explicit powers to see privileged material when investigating lawyers, an anti-corruption charity has said.
Rebuke for solicitor “who relied on memory, not records”
A law firm owner who acted “based on her recollections as opposed to checking facts” has been rebuked after letting administration of an estate drift for six years.
Consumer panel admits error but row with CLC goes on
The Legal Services Consumer Panel has accepted part of the criticism made by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers of a recent report – but not gone as far as demanded.
SRA and Law Society to collect £224m from solicitors
The Law Society and SRA are set to collect a total of £224m in fees from solicitors for the next practising year, £50m more than the current year.
Strike-off for solicitor who exploited vulnerable investors
A solicitor who “exploited and misled” the Zimbabwean women she claimed to be empowering has been struck off.
APIL calls for flexibility on ethics discussions
The SRA should not impose an “overly burdensome and arbitrary” annual requirement on law firms to hold three-hour ethics discussions for their solicitors, says APIL.
Suspension for solicitor who let work as deputy drift for 16 years
A solicitor who acted as a deputy for 16 years and did little to protect her client’s interests in that time has been suspended from practice for six months.
SDT clears conveyancer of taking instructions from client’s son
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has cleared a conveyancer of taking instructions from a client’s son and of manifest incompetence in a property transaction.
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
