Compliance & Regulation

The Competition & Markets Authority has returned to the legal market and launched an investigation into unregulated will-writing, online divorce and pre-paid probate services.

The world’s largest law firm is to be prosecuted before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over alleged breaches of anti-money laundering rules.

Solicitors need to tread carefully in applying new Solicitors Regulation Authority guidance on the Proceeds of Crime Act as they could find themselves in conflict with existing obligations.

Professional indemnity insurance premiums will rise again this year but by less than in 2022, when it was 12% across the market, Law Society research has predicted.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been carrying out dozens of investigations into possible misconduct in bulk compensation claims, particularly around cavity wall insulation.

A barrister twice convicted of drink driving cannot return to practice for six months and only then with evidence that she is “medically fit”, a Bar disciplinary tribunal has decided.

CILEx Regulation has claimed support for remaining the regulator of chartered legal executives from its recent consultation on how the present system can work better.

Class action firm Pogust Goodhead has had to write to the 1.8m clients of its MyDieselClaim brand to correct a “typographical error” in its paperwork about the cap on its fees.

The legal profession is “five years behind the curve” on diversity and inclusion and has “only in recent times” appreciated just how unequal access is, the chief executive of the LSB has said.

The Solicitors Qualifying Examination will not “deliver a more diverse profession in its current shape”, the founder of a campaign to achieve equality for women in the law has said.

The veteran husband and wife owners of a Midlands law firm have been suspended for manifest incompetence after allowing dormant client balances to build up over decades.

The time for a client to challenge a solicitor’s deduction from their damages runs from the time the deduction is made, without the client having to agree the specific amount.

Law firms are maintaining a good standard of service despite increased demand for lasting powers of attorney and deputyship work, an SRA review has found.

Regulators need to bring down the barriers to technology adoption and innovation in the interests of reducing unmet legal need, the Legal Services Board has said.

Individual solicitors and their firms will have to pay an extra £13.5m to be regulated and represented in the coming year, it emerged today.