Compliance & Regulation
Barrister jailed for drug offences fails in appeal against sentence
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal against the 14-month jail sentence imposed on a barrister who obtained drugs from two men he was representing.
£105k for two days a week: SRA begins search for new chair
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has begun the search for a new chair for its board, who will be paid £105,000 a year for around two days a week.
Legal Services Board to probe SRA over SSB Group collapse
The Legal Services Board is to probe the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s actions in the lead-up to the collapse of SSB Group, it has announced.
SDT refuses to overturn ban on ex-law firm employee over missing cash
A man whose parents granted a charge over their house to repay the £90,000 misappropriated from his law firm employer has failed to overturn a ban on working in the profession.
Report calls for major overhaul of BSB enforcement processes
The Bar Standards Board has the right approach to dealing with complaints about barristers’ conduct but there are “a large number of areas” for improvement, a major review has concluded.
Campaigners call on regulator to drop Proudman prosecution
A group of campaigners have called on the BSB to drop its prosecution of high-profile and self-declared feminist barrister Dr Charlotte Proudman over criticisms she made of a judge.
SRA moves language checks to point of admission
The SRA is going ahead with plans to move its English or Welsh language proficiency checks from the point where solicitors apply for their first practising certificates to the point of admission.
Bar Council clashes with BSB over scrapping degree requirement
The Bar Council has strongly attacked plans by the Bar Standards Board to scrap the requirement that Bar students must have at least a lower second-class degree.
SQE “working well” as firms get to grips with qualifying work experience
Around 2,750 students who took one or both parts of the Solicitors Qualifying Examination have now qualified, new Solicitors Regulation Authority figures have shown.
Lack of immigration advisers “encourages illegal services”
A lack of immigration advisers “encourages those who seek to provide advice illegally”, the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner has warned.
SRA pulls prosecution after Foreign Office warning
The SRA has withdrawn all its allegations against a solicitor and non-lawyer after the Foreign Office advised against taking evidence remotely from a crucial witness in Dubai.
Law Society seeks extra £1.76m from solicitors to fund activities
The Law Society wants solicitors to pay £1.76m more towards its operations next year, taking the amount the profession contributes to nearly £37m.
Solicitor’s tweets moved from legitimate argument to antisemitism
The solicitor struck off for tweets on Israel and Palestine shifted from making potentially valid political points “to being purely offensive and stooping to use racist and antisemitic language”.
Treasury seeks to improve “proportionality” of AML rules
HM Treasury is seeking improved “proportionality” and “additional clarity” in plans for technical changes to the 2017 Money Laundering Regulations.
LSB chief: Why are lawyers forced to pay for professional bodies?
The outgoing head of the LSB has questioned why ‘trade associations’ like the Law Society and Bar Council receive a “statutory funding stream” from regulatory fees paid by lawyers.
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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