Compliance & Regulation
SRA to appeal decision to clear Dentons over AML breaches
The High Court looks set to rule on whether a tribunal was right to find that Dentons’ breach of the anti-money laundering rules was “inadvertent”.
Police station rep referred to transgender detainee as “thing”
A police station representative who made offensive comments about a transgender detainee and about immigrants has been made subject to regulatory controls.
BSB slaps down Bar Council over diversity and equality work
The Bar Standards Board has rejected a Bar Council call to take a step back from efforts to improve equality, diversity and inclusion and instead leave it to the profession.
Law firms need to act over new duty to prevent sexual harassment
Law firms will need to rethink their approach to alcohol at events as part of preparing for the new positive legal duty on employers to prevent sexual harassment in the workplace.
Pupil barrister fined for f-word outbursts during online exam
A pupil barrister has been fined £500 for a series of foul-mouthed outbursts at a remote invigilator during an online ethics exam, which ended with him raising his middle finger to the camera.
£36k fine for law firm which let millions pass through client account
A specialist sports law firm has been fined £36,000, and its COFA rebuked, for allowing its client account to be used as a banking facility.
Solicitor leaves roll after misusing dormant client money
A solicitor who transferred £15,000 that was long sat dormant in client account to his firm’s office account has agreed to remove himself from the roll of solicitors.
Call to charge lawyers £450 to make complaint to FOS
A trade association for financial advisers has called on the Financial Ombudsman Service to impose charges of £450 per case on law firms and CMCs making volume complaints.
Barrister who bought drugs from criminal clients disbarred
A barrister jailed for 14 months for obtaining drugs from two men he was representing has been disbarred after his fourth appearance before a Bar disciplinary tribunal.
Conveyancers “overlooking post-completion work” after taking fee
The Council for Licensed Conveyancers has outlined its “growing concern” that post-completion work is not being done properly and promptly.
First SDT appearance for Zahawi lawyer accused of SLAPP
The first proceedings at the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over an alleged SLAPP (strategic litigation against public participation) began yesterday.
SRA “should be bolder” on third-party managed accounts
The Solicitors Regulation Authority should be “bolder” in its approach to third-party managed accounts, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has argued.
Barrister GC: Why can’t I sign off trainee solicitors’ work experience?
A general counsel has complained that she is unable to sign off the qualifying work experience (QWE) of trainee solicitors because she is a barrister.
SRA “must improve authorisation of law firms” in wake of Axiom Ince
The SRA must pay “immediate attention” to weaknesses in its authorisation process for new law firms in the wake of the Axiom Ince collapse, the Law Society has argued.
SRA agrees to take over regulation of CILEX members
The board of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has agreed to regulate CILEX members if it decides to press ahead with changing regulator.
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
Associates
