Compliance & Regulation
Circuit judge was “overfamiliar” with junior female staff member
A male circuit judge who was “overfamiliar” with a junior female member of staff has been handed formal advice for misconduct, rather than the recommended warning.
Court criticises solicitor in relationship with client for work on her claim
The High Court has criticised a “seriously mistaken” senior solicitor for leading on a £1.3m claim against another law firm when he was in a romantic relationship with the claimant.
CA rejects public access barristers’ bid for outstanding fees
The Court of Appeal has rejected a bid by two public access barristers to be paid nearly £125,000 in fees after the lower courts found a key term in their retainers unfair.
Strike-off for partner caught by paedophile hunter “sting”
A former partner at top firm DWF who was convicted after being caught in a ‘sting’ operation by a paedophile hunter group has now been struck off.
“Robing room banter” – Solicitor reprimanded for sexual comments
An experienced criminal lawyer who made sexualised jokes in a courtroom at the expense of a probation officer has been reprimanded by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.
BSB decides not to publish its assessments of chambers
The Bar Standards Board has decided against making public the assessments it intends to make of individual chambers, as part of its new approach to overseeing them.
Ban for partner who sought intimate relationship with junior
A partner and registered foreign lawyer at the Brussels office of a major City law firm has been banned after admitting that he wanted a sexual relationship with a young female colleague.
More price transparency and bulk claims rise up SRA agenda
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to restart work on improving transparency for consumers, which could see firms having to publish their prices in more areas of law.
SRA finally getting to grips with aged investigations into solicitors
A major push to improve the quality and speed of the SRA’s investigation and enforcement work has significantly reduced the number of cases older than two years.
Nearly 500 law firms sanctioned for transparency failures
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has sanctioned 475 law firms over failures to comply with its transparency rules since they went live nearly six years ago.
Phil Shiner pleads guilty to legal aid fraud
Disgraced human rights lawyer Phil Shiner has pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud over legal aid applications for claims against British soldiers accused of ill treatment of Iraqi detainees.
Solicitors fined £30k for letting down property clients
Two solicitors have been fined more than £30,000 between them for not considering conflicts of interest and not acting in clients’ best interests.
LSB approves trebling of compensation fund contributions
The Legal Services Board has approved the big hike in contributions solicitors and firms have to make to the Compensation Fund just in time for the SRA to collect them.
Fewer complaints about barristers’ use of social media
The number of reports to the BSB about barristers’ use of social media has unexpectedly fallen but an increasing proportion relate to “controversial social and political issues”.
New equality duty will not impact cab-rank rule, says BSB chief
The Bar Standards Board’s controversial proposal for new equality rules will not affect the cab-rank rule and will not lead to quotas, its director general said yesterday.
Blog
A new era of legal operations
What we are seeing in the UK legal market is extraordinary change that will greatly influence how firms operate and compete for years to come.
Strong AML controls are meaningless with incomplete data
One expectation as the FCA takes control of anti-money laundering oversight is a move towards more supervision rather than simply writing new rules.
Navigating the legal AI productivity-profitability paradox
Firms are achieving efficiencies through AI, especially in the practice of law. Yet many are struggling to see that reflected in their financial outcomes
