Solicitors

One of three judges removed from the bench last year for viewing pornography from a work computer, along with another who resigned before he was removed, have accepted rebukes from the Solicitors Regulation Authority for their conduct.

A ‘fake’ lawyer and three non-solicitor staff who have taken money from their firms have received banning orders from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. All are now subject to so-called section 43 orders, which prevent non-solicitors from being employed or remunerated by solicitors and their firms without permission from the regulator.

Richard Barnett, the senior partner of collapsed conveyancing firm Barnetts, has attacked what he describes as the “incredibly unfair” disciplinary regime for solicitors. Mr Barnett lost an appeal against his striking off at the High Court earlier this week.

The full scale of the allegations of misconduct against law firm Leigh Day, senior partner Martyn Day and partner Sapna Malik were published on Friday, including claims that they had made allegations over the British Army’s conduct in Iraq when it was “improper” to do so.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined two more law firms for advising on conveyancing transactions in which clients were party to schemes to avoid the payment of almost £8m in stamp duty land tax – for which the firms received £160,000 between them on top of their regular fees.

The High Court has rejected an appeal by Richard Barnett, senior partner of collapsed conveyancing firm Barnetts, against his striking-off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. Mr Barnett, a former Law Society council member, had earlier failed in a bid to use costs he had paid to the SRA to fund an advocate.

A sole practitioner has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for a “catalogue of proven breaches” of the rules which “amounted to a masterclass in failure to comply with the basic requirements of practice as a solicitor”.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has decided to drop annual diversity surveys of the profession, and make them biennial, to reduce the regulatory burden on smaller law firms. The regulator said the next survey, scheduled for this summer, would not take place until May 2017.

A solicitor who successfully challenged her strike-off at the High Court can return to practice following a decision by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. A fresh tribunal said it would be “disproportionate” to strike off Rukhsana Kiani.

A solicitor who took money from clients – including telling a personal injury client that he had been awarded less than he really had – has been struck off despite claiming that he was being blackmailed at the time.

Law firms that charge clients for money laundering due diligence checks are at risk of breaking the rules, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned in a report that in the main painted a positive picture of how firms are approaching their responsibilities in relation to anti money laundering.

The chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has responded to strongly-worded criticisms this week from the Legal Services Board by the describing its report as “the best ever” received from the oversight regulator. However, Mr Philip admitted that there were parts of the report and performance review where the SRA had a “different opinion”.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has put conditions on the return to the law of a former Law Society council member who was once found by a Crown Court judge to have been “wholly unsuited” to running a legal practice.

The lack of independence between the legal regulators and representative bodies risks undermining the credibility of regulation and allows the likes of the Law Society and Bar Council to delay reforms that would benefit competition, the Legal Services Board said yesterday.

The Legal Services Board has strongly criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority over failures in its enforcement work and IT systems – and also warned about the risk that the overhaul of the Handbook “may be too much” for firms and the regulator to cope with. However, the LSB said the legal regulators collectively had all made “substantial progress”.