Solicitors

A High Court judge has overturned a Legal Ombudsman decision that a barrister had not earned his fee, but separately upheld a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decision to hand out a record fine.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is looking at whether to abolish all of the prescriptive requirements around continuing professional development (CPD) and leave it to solicitors and their firms to decide how best to ensure their continuing competence.

The impact of alternative business structures (ABSs) on organisations with in-house lawyers is likely to be felt most in the third sector, major new research has found – but hundreds of private companies and public authorities are looking at conversion too.

A fifth of law firms failed to meet last Friday’s deadline for submitting their diversity data reports to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). Some 79% (8,396) firms successfully lodged their reports last week, “with many more in progress”, according to the SRA.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has hedged the award of alternative business structure (ABS) licences to accountants PricewaterhouseCoopers and insurer Direct Line Group with a host of conditions, it has emerged.

The Legal Services Board’s consultation on its plan to oblige frontline regulators to have lay chairs has met a barrage of opposition from regulators and lawyers, pitted against consumer advocates, which strongly backed the measure.

Responses to the Legal Services Board’s (LSB) legal education and training framework have revealed broad opposition to its proposal to invoke statutory powers to ensure frontline regulators fall into line behind the LSB’s vision.

An Italian lawyer has warned of a ‘timebomb’ of regulatory risk among foreign lawyers practising in England and Wales, and urged European law firms to ensure they understood what was required to comply with conduct rules.

QBE has taken over as the leading insurer of solicitors, figures released yesterday by the Solicitors Regulation Authority have revealed. Between QBE Insurance (Europe) Ltd and two Lloyd’s syndicates, the Australian-based insurer secured 18.2% of the premiums paid.

The first registration deadline for the Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA) has been extended again, the Joint Advocacy Group announced today. However, it will not be delaying the scheme to await the outcome of the Jeffrey review of criminal advocacy.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed that around 10 firms have failed to close after failing to secure professional indemnity insurance and are heading for intervention, as the fallout resulting from last year’s renewal season enters its final phase.

The frontline legal regulators yesterday launched a groundbreaking consumer-facing information website that aims to demystify the legal profession for ordinary people.

There have been some angry reactions to the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s publication last Friday of the names of 136 law firms which did not secure professional indemnity insurance by 29 December.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to perform a u-turn on allowing unrated insurers to offer solicitors cover after discovering that they do not always have the same protections as rated insurers.

A law firm whose clients were unaware of the true cost of their conveyancing after being reeled in with low quotes did not take unfair advantage of them, the High Court has ruled. However, the fines imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal were too low.