Compliance & Regulation
MPs’ support for Legal Services Act review divides opinion
MPs’ backing for a review of legal regulation has split opinion in the market, pitching the Legal Services Consumer Panel and Professor Stephen Mayson against the Law Society.
SRA fines “unfair” and “schizophrenic”, solicitors argue
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s approach to fines has been branded unfair and “schizophrenic” in the wake of hefty penalties handed out to solicitors convicted of drink-driving.
Ex-solicitor struck off for bribes fails in bid to return to profession
A former solicitor struck off after being jailed for five years for perverting the course of justice has failed in his attempt to return to the profession.
MPs: Case to review Legal Services Act “growing stronger and stronger”
The case for re-examining the regulatory framework created by the Legal Services Act 2007 is “growing stronger and stronger”, MPs have told the government.
Miller: Who lawyers decide to act for is not a regulatory issue
Who lawyers choose to act for is not a regulatory issue – and the Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to be clear on this, a leading legal regulatory specialist said yesterday.
Prove you will practise here, BSB to tell transferring overseas lawyers
The Bar Standards Board could ask foreign lawyers seeking to be called in England and Wales to prove they intend to practise here, it has emerged.
SRA sets out plans to regulate CILEX paralegals and students
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has outlined its plans to regulate the thousands of Chartered Institute of Legal Executives members who are paralegals and students.
Newly qualified solicitor struck off for false time recording
A newly qualified solicitor who “falsely recorded time across a number of files” to show his law firm that he was meeting his billing target has been struck off.
Lady Chief Justice speaks out in support of cab-rank rule
The Lady Chief Justice yesterday spoke out in support of the cab-rank rule, arguing that without it “law and justice become an arbitrary concept”.
Strike-off for solicitor who lied to SRA about firm’s closure
A solicitor who lied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority after failing to renew his firm’s professional indemnity insurance has been struck off.
Short suspension for junior solicitor who groped colleague
A male solicitor who groped and propositioned a female colleague at his firm’s Christmas party has been suspended for three months.
Money laundering solicitor finally pays off confiscation order
A struck-off solicitor and money launderer has finally satisfied the £716,719 confiscation order made against him in 2017, after facing a return to jail.
Don’t put up a barrier with your business, in-house lawyers told
In-house lawyers should not think they are special because of their wider duties to the court as this risks alienating them from their business colleagues, it was claimed yesterday.
Community order for disbarred barrister over antisemitic blog posts
A former barrister who was disbarred for antisemitic and racist tweets has now been handed a nine-month community order for grossly offensive antisemitic material posted on his blog.
Hefty AML fine for firm that facilitated vendor fraud
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has handed out three more hefty fines for anti-money laundering failures, one for a firm that facilitated a vendor fraud as a result.
Blog
Law firms need to go beyond document checks
At the root of every failed compliance review is a familiar phrase: a calm assertion of “but we did a document check”.
How you respond to mistakes matters more than the mistakes themselves
Mistakes in legal practice are inevitable. What truly differentiates well-run firms from those that stumble is not whether mistakes occur, but how they are handled when they do.
Litigation finance is not one product. It’s a strategy
Across the consumer claims market, litigation finance has developed into a broader set of funding options that can support different stages of a case.
