Compliance & Regulation
Legal regulators “must collaborate to help consumers”
There is “clear scope” for the legal regulators to “pool their resources and work together” on research and policy relating to consumers, a report has found.
Legal services T-Levels to be taught for first time this month
The first teenagers to take the legal services T-Level, a new vocational alternative to A-Levels, are to start courses this month at half a dozen schools and colleges.
BSB takes action over worst-performing Bar training course
Would-be students on last year’s worst performing Bar training course cannot start it this month after the Bar Standards Board intervened.
SRA told to pay solicitor £75k in costs for failed prosecution
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been slapped with a £75,000 costs order after making an “essential mistake of law” in a failed prosecution of a solicitor.
Regulating CILEX lawyers “will not affect solicitors”, says SRA
The Solicitors Regulation Authority does not expect acting as regulator for CILEX to “affect the identity of the solicitors’ profession or the way it is regulated”.
GCs call for role to be set out in corporate governance code
A group of general counsel have called on the Financial Reporting Council to set out the role in the UK Corporate Governance Code and suggested how it could be done.
City lawyers: Russia sanctions on legal services have gone too far
City lawyers have warned the government that the recent tightening of sanctions on lawyers providing legal advisory services to Russians has gone too far.
Barrister reprimanded for “unreasonable” conduct of immigration case
A barrister made subject to a wasted costs order because of his conduct of an immigration judicial review has been reprimanded and fined by the Bar Standards Board.
ASA rules law firm’s flight delay claims adverts misleading
The Advertising Standards Authority has upheld a Scottish airline’s complaints that a Manchester law firm’s adverts for flight delay claims were misleading.
Solicitor blames launching firm on eve of Covid for rule breaches
A solicitor has blamed the difficulties of becoming a law firm owner for the first time shortly before the pandemic struck for his breaches of the accounts rules.
SRA evidence “not enough” to revive ex-managing partner’s ET claim
An employment tribunal has refused to reconsider rulings that went against a former law firm managing partner despite new evidence that undermined a key finding about his honesty.
LSB set to beef up rules on how lawyers handle complaints
Lawyers are facing beefed-up rules on dealing with complaints, and the prospect of how quickly they handle them being made public, under proposals published yesterday.
SDT grants anonymity to solicitor over drink-drive conviction
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has taken the unusual step of anonymising the identity of a solicitor appearing before it after a drink-driving conviction.
Reprimand for barrister who showed “contempt for legal process”
A barrister who made 10 meritless applications, including damages claims worth £4m against a council, and as a result was made subject to an extended civil restraint order, has been reprimanded.
BSB chief: We cannot stop review websites covering barristers
The Bar Standards Board has warned that it cannot stop the growing interest in featuring barristers on online review and comparison websites, even if the profession wants it to.
Blog
Why later-life divorce requires a distinct professional framework
Later-life divorce, often described as ‘silver splitter’ or ‘grey divorce’ cases, is no longer a marginal feature of family law practice. It challenges long-standing assumptions about how divorce work is done.
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
