Solicitors

More than two months since law firms were meant to have their compliance officers in place, around 300 firms still do not have them, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has revealed. This is a mix of firms that have not had their nominations approved and those that have still not nominated at all.

All legal services providers should undertake and publish equal pay audits, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has suggested – this would ideally be voluntary, “but only if it results in the changes needed”. It came in an LSB review of the evidence on equal pay.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to revisit its policy on requiring firms to report non-material breaches to examine whether it amounts to an “unnecessary burden” on the profession. Its board yesterday approved the first 10 proposals in its red tape initiative.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has “substantial work” to do before it can consider its performance satisfactory, including making its rules less prescriptive, the Legal Services Board said today.

A training regime whose only specification is what a newly-qualified lawyer should be able to offer on day one is the kind of deregulation the Legal Education and Training Review should be considering, according to the chief executive of the Legal Services Board.

City solicitors have called for clarity from the Solicitors Regulation Authority over the reporting of rule breaches and misconduct, while arguing that compliance officers should be the first port of call for whistleblowers.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has rejected a demand by the Legal Services Board that it start a review of the separate business rule, saying it can see “very little public interest justification” for doing so.

Nearly half of solicitors’ firms are not clear what regulatory outcomes they are expected to deliver, a survey on outcomes-focused regulation (OFR) has found – despite more than four out five people questioned being those responsible for ensuring compliance.

The rule which prevents solicitors and alternative business structures from hiving off non-reserved legal work into unregulated businesses risks making legal services more expensive, distorting competition and preventing innovation, the Legal Services Board has warned.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s red-tape challenge could introduce “significant risks” if registered foreign lawyers are automatically allowed to become the owners and managers of smaller firms, the Law Society has warned.

The “popular myth” that conveyancing is low value is not borne out by the evidence, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has found. But property work is continuing to cause the regulator problems, with stamp duty land tax schemes and ‘right to buy’ negligence litigation firmly on its radar.

A lender has lost its appeal against a High Court ruling that said a solicitor was not liable for its loss in a £2.5m mortgage fraud perpetrated by her former partner because she was not aware of the misrepresentations he made.

The Legal Services Board (LSB) will today formally recommend to the Lord Chancellor that will-writing – but not estate administration – should be regulated legal work. The LSB had initially intended to include estate administration.

Client confidentiality could be undermined by proposed changes to the European money laundering directive, the Law Society has warned. The removal of simplified due diligence provisions for client accounts is among a number of proposals to which the society objects.

An entrepreneurial personal injury solicitor has teamed up with his local newspaper to create a community charity funded by a substantial donation every time he receives an instruction from a member of the public.