Compliance & Regulation
Barristers “need guidance from chambers on sanctions compliance”
Chambers need to have “mechanisms and guidance in place” to ensure their barristers are complying with UK sanctions, the Bar Standards Board has said.
LeO seeks £1.2m budget increase as complaints numbers rise
The Legal Ombudsman has proposed a 7% increase, or £1.2m, in its budget to nearly £18m next year, with delays at the complaints-handling body set to continue for longer than anticipated.
Sex offender given access to child’s data by law firm found in contempt
A convicted sex offender accidentally given access by a leading law firm to a vulnerable child’s confidential information has been found guilty of contempt for not complying with court orders to delete it.
Beringer: Firms must be publicly accountable for new client decisions
Commercial law firms must be prepared to publicly justify acting for controversial clients and not hide behind professional arguments like access to justice, ex-Allen & Overy senior partner Guy Beringer has said.
Solicitors “have more positive view of their services” than consumers do
There are “several discrepancies” between the quality of the service solicitors believe they are providing and what consumers perceive, research for the SRA has found.
Law firms each fined £12,000 for AML failures
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined two law firms over £12,000 each for anti-money laundering failures, one having accepted source of funds confirmation from a Ukrainian law firm.
Majority of law firms still failing to follow price transparency rules
Nearly six in 10 law firms are failing to publish the full cost and service information required by the transparency rules, a report for the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Solicitor who practised unauthorised for son’s business is suspended
A solicitor who practised unauthorised and handled reserved probate work for a company owned by her non-solicitor son after her firm closed has been suspended for three months.
Court refers lawyers to regulators over misconduct in $11bn arbitration
A High Court judge has referred a solicitor and a barrister to their regulators for “indefensible” conduct, motivated by money, that contributed to his decision to overturn an $11bn arbitration award.
SRA makes pitch to be sole AML supervisor for UK legal sector
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has called on the government to make it the sole supervisor of anti-money laundering activity by all lawyers.
BSB could publish assessments of chambers and encourage mergers
The Bar Standards Board has floated the idea of publishing assessments of individual chambers as part of a new supervision strategy and encouraging smaller ones to bulk up through merger.
Law Society wants single AML supervisor for legal services
The Law Society has argued for a single supervisor of anti-money laundering activity for the legal sector in England and Wales.
Unbundling “empowers client” and optimises solicitors’ billing
Clients using unbundled legal services feel empowered by having control of their own case, while it is the best way for solicitors to bill every minute of their time, a pioneering family lawyer says.
“Great deal of work” still needed on barrister apprenticeships
There is still a “great deal of work” to be done to ensure that barrister apprenticeships are ready for launch, the Bar Standards Board has warned, even though it is set to move closer today.
Solicitors told to brace for “radical” rise in compensation fund costs
Solicitors were yesterday warned to brace for a “radical” increase in their contributions to the SRA Compensation Fund following the interventions into Axiom Ince, Metamorph and Kingly.
Blog
Legal director: an alternative to partnership
Firms are increasingly acknowledging the need for alternative senior roles – positions that offer influence and recognition without the obligations of ownership.
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
