Compliance & Regulation
Judge refers barrister to BSB and ‘legal consultant’ for contempt
The High Court has referred a barrister and his chambers to the Bar Standards Board over their involvement in litigation run by a legal consultant it employs.
Solicitor struck off for unauthorised work on cannabis case
A consultant solicitor who carried out unauthorised work for a man facing serious drug offences, and then asked to be paid in cash, has been struck off.
Solicitor struck off for “alarming” email and stalking conviction
A non-practising solicitor who sent a misleading email “designed to influence and alarm” the two sons of a mentally ill woman has been struck off.
Veteran solicitor’s “jokes” inappropriate but not misconduct
A duty solicitor in his 80s who was banned from Coventry Police Station after making eccentric comments to two young female officers has been cleared of misconduct.
CA condemns sting that saw solicitor disclose privileged information
The Court of Appeal has strongly condemned ‘privilege hunting’ – illicit methods to obtain information from litigation opponents – in a case where a law firm partner was successfully duped.
Law firm in dock for running cases using “fraudulent” documents
A judge has expressed deep concern about how an East London law firm has run immigration cases, with multiple clients relying on materially similar documents.
Law firms face enforcement action over misleading claims ads
The FCA has spotted 170 misleading car finance adverts as part of the on-going campaign against “poor practices” by CMCs and law firms.
High Court throws out solicitor’s appeal against SDT decision
The High Court has thrown out a solicitor’s appeal against a decision of the SDT because she failed to provide grounds for more than four months after filing it.
CLC rebukes Legal Services Consumer Panel for “inaccuracies”
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has issued a sharp rebuke to the Legal Services Consumer Panel for its “inaccurate representation” of the regulator last week.
More would-be lawyers turning to CILEX
The uncertainty caused by the Mazur ruling has not discouraged would-be lawyers from studying with CILEX, with new registrations up 18% this year, its chief executive has revealed.
Solicitor jailed for stealing £1.2m from clients
A solicitor who stole nearly £1.2m from clients – in part to pay his tax bill – has been jailed for nearly four years after admitting three counts of fraud by abuse of position.
SRA to shift Compensation Fund burden to individual solicitors
Individuals are set to pay 70% of the contributions to the Compensation Fund this year after a major policy shift by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Consumer panel lays out case for single legal regulator
The moment for structural reform of legal regulation “has arrived”, the Legal Services Consumer Panel says today in a call for a new single independent regulator.
SRA’s plans for compulsory ethics discussions “could cost £100m”
Plans by the SRA to introduce compulsory three-hour ethics discussions for solicitors could cost the profession £100m, Birmingham Law Society has calculated.
Milne to face SDT over stalking conviction
Controversial solicitor Andrew Milne is to face the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal following his conviction earlier this year for stalking.
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
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