Solicitors

Only four organisations have so far taken advantage of a Solicitors Regulation Authority initiative that gives them access to information about all 10,000 law firms. On top of the searchable, online database of firms that was announced in March, this basic data was also made available to registered data re-publishers via a new web service.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has opened a second front in its campaign for full separation from the Law Society by appealing to the Treasury to intervene over the issue of money laundering. The Ministry of Justice is expected to reveal its plans on separation after the EU referendum.

A conveyancer who failed to report important details to lender clients or follow their instructions in over 100 transactions has been fined £2,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Meanwhile, an assistant solicitor who failed to secure a party’s interest in a property by registering a form at the Land Registry, has been fined £5,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

A solicitor who faked three client care letters and backdated them has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The SDT rejected Rafique Chowdhury’s claims that he acted “in a moment of madness” and was “regularising the files, not seeking to mislead anyone”.

A sole practitioner who claimed to be “unable to distinguish right from wrong” has been fined £10,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The tribunal said Claire Flood’s decision to transfer money from client accounts to pay her tax bill lacked “moral soundness, rectitude and a steady adherence to an ethical code”.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority yesterday unveiled a seven-page code of conduct for solicitors and six-page code for firms as part of a radical shake-up of the way it oversees the profession. The most significant change, if approved, would mean that solicitors could deliver unreserved services to the public from organisations that were not regulated by the SRA.

Half of in-house lawyers face having to advise on ethically or legally debatable actions, while a similar number complain that actions are sometimes taken against their advice on “legally important matters”, a major report has revealed.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has bowed to fierce opposition from universities and law schools, and put its plans to introduce a new centralised assessment test for future solicitors on hold. The SRA’s board was due to decide on whether to go ahead at its meeting yesterday.

A bogus solicitor who provided immigration advice while using the name of a legitimate law firm has been handed a suspended prison sentence. Peter Campbell, 40, of Forest Gate, London, pleaded guilty at Westminster Magistrates’ Court to 10 charges of providing unregulated immigration advice and services.

The High Court has rejected an appeal against striking off from a solicitor who “neither thought nor cared about” the rules governing his profession. Robert Scott argued that because he had been found not to have acted dishonestly, he could not be found to have lacked integrity.

A third judge removed from the bench for watching pornography on judicial IT equipment has admitted not telling the Solicitors Regulation Authority about it when applying for a practising certificate shortly afterwards.

The government yesterday accepted recommendations for stronger fining powers for the Solicitors Regulation Authority, a lower burden of proof before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and the need to introduce further measures to discourage ‘late’ personal injury claims, in the next stage of its crackdown on fraudulent behaviour.

A barrister turned solicitor has been disbarred 10 years after he was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. He did not tell the Bar about the decision and the Bar Standards Board only became aware of it last year when Lloyd Aneke applied for restoration to the roll of solicitors.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has joined the Solicitors Regulation Authority in opposing a ban on professional McKenzie Friends. The LSB said the judiciary had not explained why a ban was necessary, what harm it would address or what the consequences might be for consumers.

Law Society spending on non-regulatory ‘permitted purposes’, such as law reform and practice support, surged by £6.3m in the four years between 2010 and 2014, research by the Legal Services Board has revealed. The research was part of the LSB’s investigation into the cost of legal services regulation.