Compliance & Regulation
SRA imposes controls on firm employee who assaulted colleagues
A former law firm employee convicted of two assaults on colleagues in a nightclub after a work dinner has been given a conditional ban from the profession.
Barristers should have duty to “actively promote anti-discrimination”
Barristers should be under a professional duty to actively promote anti-discriminatory attitudes and behaviours, it has been suggested. But this was not about requiring barristers to be ‘woke’.
Two solicitors fined for refusing to give breath samples
Two solicitors convicted of failing to provide a specimen of breath for analysis after minor car accidents have been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Third US state set to allow alternative business structures
The slow creep of ABSs into the US is set to take a significant step forward next month when plans for a pilot are put to the supreme court of Washington state.
Formal warning for coroner overheard bad-mouthing barrister
An assistant coroner overheard describing a barrister’s submission as “bollocks” and a judge who took 16 months to produce a ruling have been disciplined for misconduct.
Charging law firms £250 “makes volume FOS claims unmanageable”
Charging law firms fees of £250 per case to bring complaints to the Financial Ombudsman Service could make volume complaints “unmanageable”, the Law Society has warned.
Property firm fined £22k for money laundering failures
A property law firm in Manchester has been handed a fine of nearly £22,000 for failures in anti-money laundering procedures, towards the top end of the SRA’s powers.
Partner suspended for sexual misconduct at firm retreat
A former board-level partner at a well-known law firm has been suspended for nine months for making inappropriate sexual advances to a colleague at a partners’ away weekend.
Judge warned over misconduct in own divorce proceedings
A deputy district judge has received a formal warning for misconduct over how he presented his financial situation in divorce proceedings.
Solicitor struck off over missing money that has cost profession £3.8m
A solicitor who has cost the profession more than £3.8m in payments from the SRA Compensation Fund to replace money that was taken from property clients has been struck off.
Solicitor fined for transferring £10k of client money by error
A solicitor who mistakenly transferred £10,000 of client money to his firm’s business account – and did not realise for six months – has been fined by the SRA.
SRA to contact dozens of immigration solicitors over competence
The SRA is contacting a group of immigration and asylum solicitors whose training records did not provide “sufficient assurances” that they are maintaining their competence.
ACL set to introduce ‘costs paralegals’ to boost profession
The Association of Costs Lawyers has backed the creation of a new membership category for non-costs lawyers, with launched a further consultation on describing them as ‘costs paralegals’.
SRA hands out another big fine for AML non-compliance
A law firm in Essex is the latest to receive a hefty fine from the Solicitors Regulation Authority for not complying with anti-money laundering rules.
“Favourable” PII market expected to continue throughout 2024
The current “favourable” professional indemnity insurance market is expected to continue throughout the rest of 2024, according to a leading broker.
Blog
Why law firms are getting AI supervision wrong
The profession’s response to AI supervision failures misunderstands the nature of LLM output – there needs to be for a shift in the culture.
Beyond the PII premium – rethinking risk
Professional indemnity insurance renewal is often treated as an annual pricing exercise. But it is also a chance to show how effectively you identify, manage and mitigate risk.
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.
Reports
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