Solicitors

A former partner at Blake Lapthorn has agreed with the Solicitors Regulation Authority that he will apply for his name to be removed from the roll after admitting five improper withdrawals of client money totalling almost £222,000. He used client money, without consent, for the benefit of another client – known as ‘teeming and lading’.

A probate manager who admitting making 140 “improper withdrawals” over a period of 11 years, resulting in a client account shortage of £730,000, has been banned from working for law firms. Though he acted recklessly, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal did not find him dishonest.

A “potentially high-profile and contentious” dispute between the Legal Services Board (LSB) and the Law Society is looming over how the latter spends money derived from practising fees. The LSB is to review its 2009 Practising Fee Rules after a hole was found in the Legal Services Act 2007.

Solicitors acting for both sides in property transactions are under a duty to disclose crucial details to lenders, the Court of Appeal has ruled. They are not expected to act as a “detective or bloodhound”, but should report adverse “non-confidential information”.

Documents drawn up by Clifford Chance for a special RBS committee dealing with the LIBOR scandal are protected by legal advice privilege, the High Court has decided, saying that lawyers must have able to give clients “candid factual briefings” as well as legal advice.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has closed a host of law firms in recent weeks, including two London firms on the grounds of suspected dishonesty.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has halved its budget for appeals from alternative business structures, as it has yet to receive one since the Solicitors Regulation Authority started licensing them in 2012.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority should drop its plans for a centralised assessment test for would-be solicitors at the point of qualification and instead introduce a centralised test for the legal practice course, young lawyers have argued.

The Legal Services Board has put a temporary block on plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority to widen its net to cover providers that do not need to be regulated. It said the reforms “could be seen as a significant shift in the regulation of legal services”.

In-house lawyers, “bashed up” by justice secretary Michael Gove over the issue of pro bono, should have an “open debate” about making it compulsory, the chair of the GC100 Group has said. He was speaking during a panel debate to mark the start of National Pro Bono Week.

A solicitor who last year was found by the High Court to have duped his client by conducting “fictitious” litigation that included faked judgments and telephone conferences involving the impersonation of his senior partner and of leading counsel, has been referred to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

Clients may not need detailed information about separate businesses when work is referred to them by their law firm owners, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has said. The Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned that the new separate business rule could leave consumers in the dark.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) has upheld a complaint over a law firm’s claim that its ‘no win, no fee’ clients would receive all of their damages. However, it emerged after the ASA made its finding that the firm, London practice Lorrells, had closed down.

Solicitors who refer consumers to their unregulated businesses under the revised separate business rule may obtain consent to do so, but there is a serious risk that it will not be informed, a member of the Legal Services Consumer Panel has warned.

A solicitor who failed to issue proceedings, fabricated settlement offers and paid clients “compensation” from his own money has been struck off. Mark Davies told the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal that some clients may have benefited from his actions.