Solicitors

Consumers and businesses believe that drafting “legally accurate and effective” documents is a more important quality of a competent solicitor than following professional rules, a major study has found.

Professor Avrom Sherr, one of the country’s leading legal academics, has said that “nobody listens to the Law Society” since it lost its regulatory role.

Legal education providers have warned that the possible introduction of a new, centralised assessment test for all would-be solicitors by the Solicitors Regulation Authority could be “a step back”.

Many of the 1,863 law firms e-mailed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority last Thursday that their apparent lack of professional indemnity insurance meant they would have to move into a period of shut-down had cover after all, it emerged.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority closed three law firms in London and Essex in just two days last week, giving suspected dishonesty as a reason for each separate intervention.

The Legal Services Board has approved the introduction of restrictions that prevent large organisations from making claims on the Solicitors Compensation Fund. Claims will only be considered if they are made by individuals, small businesses, small charities or small trusts.

Home Counties law firm B Legal failed in its duties to a purchaser of mortgage-backed securities, the High Court has held, in two of the four test cases it considered.

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off Nasir Ilyas, the last partner of North West firm Wolstenholmes to be disciplined for professional misconduct.

The government has secured an amendment to the Criminal Justice and Courts Bill banning inducements for personal injury claims offered by unregulated third parties linked to law firms.

The Law Society made a one-off payment to its now retired chief executive Des Hudson under a ‘settlement agreement’ to offset a non-compete clause, it has emerged.

Solicitors, consumers and businesses who took part in research for the Solicitors Regulation Authority have given high marks to a draft competence statement, which aims to define the standards needed to enter and remain in the profession.

The Ministry of Justice has made it clear that it is not in favour of any form of regulation for will-writing, following calls by LeO for a voluntary ombudsman scheme. It said “other options should be explored first

The chief legal ombudsman, Adam Sampson, has called on the government to extend its jursidction to unregulated will-writing and probate providers – while also highlighting continued shortcomings among regulated providers.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has said it may have to stop regulating consumer credit work, such as debt collection, from next April. The regulator said it was aware that around 1,100 firms were involved in debt collection.

The Legal Services Board has attacked the “arbitrary nature” of the separate business rule used by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, and said the list of what is permitted and what is not is “confusing”.