Compliance & Regulation
Solicitor fined after acting for friends and family without insurance
A solicitor who was unaware that the rules had changed so that she could not handle friends and family’s conveyancing for free without insurance has been fined.
High Court rejects barrister’s bid for Lib Dems disclosure order
The High Court has rejected a barrister’s bid for an order requiring the Liberal Democrats to disclose the identities of people who made anonymous complaints about her.
SRA issues first fixed penalty fine for diversity data failure
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has handed out the first fixed penalty fine for a law firm’s failure to submit its workforce diversity data within the deadline.
Solicitor jailed for false accounting fails to overturn conviction
The Court of Appeal has rejected an appeal by a former solicitor jailed more than four years ago for false accounting at his law firm.
Judge refuses to intervene over barrister who swapped sides
The High Court has refused to intervene in a dispute over the counsel for a claimant having previously been on the record for the defendants.
High Court upholds SDT decision to clear former Law Society president
The High Court has dismissed an appeal against a decision of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal to clear former Law Society president David Greene of lying to the county court.
Partner agrees to leave profession for “recklessly” misleading firm
A former equity partner at Thompsons has agreed to remove himself from the roll after admitting he “recklessly” misled it about the intimate nature of his relationship with a colleague.
Tribunal ends solicitor’s indefinite suspension after 15 years
The SDT has permitted a solicitor it indefinitely suspended 15 years ago to return to practise after he provided “full and comprehensive evidence of training in property law”.
Gray’s Inn admits student charged in Greece over refugee work
Gray’s Inn has admitted as a student member a man who is facing a criminal prosecution in Greece over refugee rescue work he did as a volunteer in Greece.
Research: Consumers find multiplicity of legal regulators confusing
The public finds different regulators for different part of the legal profession confusing and backs the Solicitors Regulation Authority taking oversight of chartered legal executives.
LSB calls in Northern Irish law firm to assist with SRA Axiom probe
The Legal Services Board has retained a Northern Irish law firm to assist with its review of regulatory events leading up to the SRA’s intervention into Axiom Ince.
Barristers face 9.5% increase in cost of practising next year
Barristers are facing a 9.5% increase in the cost of their practising certificates next year, reduced from 13.5% with the Bar Council again planning to use its reserves to mitigate the increase.
SDT lifts restriction on law firm owner after closure warning
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has removed a condition on the practising certificate of the owner of a legal aid law firm after he warned that it could force the firm to close.
Anti-bullying training “should be compulsory for barristers”
Training to prevent bullying and harassment should be compulsory for barristers, the leader of gender equality group Behind the Gown has said.
Law firm finance head lied about fraud conviction to get job
A law firm employed a head of finance who concealed the fact that he had been jailed in Ireland for defrauding his previous employer.
Blog
Why upfront information could transform the home buying
The success of upfront property information will depend on more than simply making the information available.
AI risk: What law firms must now demand from vendors
AI systems ingest, transform, infer and generate. Treating them as equivalent to document storage or workflow tools is a category error.
Why mid-sized firms are the most interesting story in UK legal right now
Mid-sized law firms are facing a set of decisions about structure, technology and growth that will define where they sit in the market for the next decade.
Reports
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