Compliance & Regulation

A Norwich law firm has been fined £121,000 for failing for eight years to replace client money which it had wrongly paid out to beneficiaries of an estate.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has decided not to enforce at £65,000 fine it has issued against a financial mis-selling law firm because it is in liquidation.

The courts should have the power to issue big fines for law firms that bring SLAPPs, global anti-corruption campaigner Bill Browder has told Legal Futures.

The High Court has rejected the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s appeal against a £75,000 costs order made after its failed prosecution of a solicitor.

A barrister who made false allegations of homophobia, harassment and discrimination against a colleague while both worked at a leading law firm has been disbarred.

Eight MPs met with victims of defunct Sheffield law firm SSB Group this week as pressure on both the government and the Solicitors Regulation Authority ramped up.

Law firms’ performance in handling clients’ complaints should be published to improve transparency, the Legal Services Board has told the frontline regulators.

A solicitor fined £20,000 five years ago by the SDT for loaning a client money at 60% APR, has been fined a further £30,000 for misleading the tribunal about other loans.

Plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to regulate CILEX paralegals are a risk to the “reputation of the solicitor profession” and unnecessary, the Law Society has argued.

A solicitor caught up in her husband’s supply of unauthorised medicines and controlled drugs, as well as money laundering, has been struck off.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority needs more powers to prevent misconduct by law firms involved in strategic litigation against public participation (SLAPPs), peers have urged.

The Civil Mediation Council is creating an independent regulatory body and applying for a Royal charter in a bid to drive up standards in the profession, it has emerged.

The options for solicitors to offer services to the public as freelancers or from unregulated businesses have had a “modest impact on consumer choice”, research for the SRA has found.

A solicitor who tried to pass off costs incurred by someone else as his own before the Business and Property Court has been struck off.

The Legal Services Board has warned regulators that they could face action over “slow” progress in developing quality indicators to help consumers choose lawyers.