Solicitors
Review pushes criminal lawyers towards common training and smaller Bar
A future where would-be criminal law barristers train together with solicitors and work at law firms before joining a “smaller, specialist Bar” later in their careers was sketched out yesterday in the government-commissioned review of criminal advocacy.
LeO: make conveyancers answer to HMRC for stamp duty failings
The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) has suggested that conveyancers, rather than clients, should answer to HMRC when stamp duty payments fail to arrive.
End of the annual accountant’s report is nigh
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has unveiled plans to remove the requirement that firms have their client accounts reviewed by an independent accountant and submit an annual accountant’s report.
SRA bids to slash minimum PII cover to £500,000
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has called for the minimum level of indemnity cover firms must obtain to be cut to £500,000. The existing limits are £2m for traditional partnerships, or £3m for incorporated practices.
SRA aims to ease the path for MDPs
Non-reserved legal activities within multi-disciplinary alternative business structures should be taken out of regulation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, it proposed yesterday.
Another unrated insurer “heading for liquidation”, says SRA – as it rejects ban
Another unrated indemnity insurer is “likely to be put into liquidation”, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has warned. The news comes as the SRA announced that it will not introduce a ban on unrated insurers.
Sole practices responsible for 45% of claims on compensation fund
Sole practices are responsible for 45% of the latest claims made on the solicitors’ compensation fund, despite making up only around a third of firms at the time, research for the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found.
Solicitor numbers fall – for the first time in 20 years
The number of practicing and non-practicing solicitors has fallen – for the first time in more than 20 years. Meanwhile, the decline in the number of law firms continued, according to new Law Society statistics.
SRA signals fresh approach to regulation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has signalled a fresh approach to its work, with a focus on simplifying the requirements it imposes and ensuring they are proportionate.
Law Society loses control of SRA chair and board appointments
Control over the appointment of the next chairman of the Solicitors Regulation Authority was taken away from the Law Society yesterday after the Legal Services Board introduced new rules governing the process.
SRA pushes ahead with deregulation of training
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is pushing ahead with its plans to deregulate the training of solicitors, despite objections from their professional body. They include scrapping the prescribed form of the training contract.
Partners sanctioned over misuse of client money
A Lancashire solicitor has been struck off after misusing more than £400,000 of client monies to prop up her ailing firm. Kimberley Bridge was struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal this week for nine counts of dishonesty.
QASA registration timetable thrown up in air by continuing JR
The timetable for advocates to register for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates has been thrown into chaos as a result of the continuing judicial review of its legality. Meanwhile, the Bar Standards Board has begun the search for a new chair.
LSB reviews hurdles faced by non-lawyers who want to own ABSs
Plans to simplify the approval process for non-lawyer owners of alternative business structures are being considered by the Legal Services Board, it has emerged. Private equity purchasers are proving particularly tricky under the current regime.
SRA builds relations with high-impact firms
The introduction of relationship management – giving certain law firms a dedicated contact at the Solicitors Regulation Authority – is working for both sides, new research has indicated. However, a fifth of firms consider complying with OFR is too expensive.
Blog
Why later-life divorce requires a distinct professional framework
Later-life divorce, often described as ‘silver splitter’ or ‘grey divorce’ cases, is no longer a marginal feature of family law practice. It challenges long-standing assumptions about how divorce work is done.
Listening, learning and leading The Solicitor’s Charity with care
As I prepare to hand over the mantle of chair of The Solicitor’s Charity next month, it doesn’t feel like an end. Instead, it feels like a wonderful journey.
Is competition in the legal sector stifling innovation?
As the legal sector’s competitive landscape continues to evolve, Nobel laureates remind us that innovation is not inevitable,and that competition may not always be an incentive to innovate.
