Solicitors

Non-parties should in principle be given access to documents placed before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and referred to during hearings, it has emphasised in a new policy.

Law firms unable to secure professional indemnity insurance because of Covid-19 can prolong the extended indemnity period by agreement and with regulatory approval.

An experienced solicitor who allowed her firm’s client account to be used as a banking facility in a £8m “cheque-clearing scheme” has been struck off.

City law firm Kennedys is to launch a 30-month ‘graduate solicitor apprenticeship’ when the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) comes into effect in autumn 2021.

A law firm acting for different defendants against the same claimant does not owe that claimant a true fiduciary duty, and so it does not have to prove its Chinese Wall works, the Court of Appeal has ruled.

A solicitor accused of disclosing to a client confidential information about a former client has been cleared of wrongdoing by a disciplinary tribunal.

Junior lawyers have lost confidence in the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s approach to dealing with inexperienced solicitors who have mental health issues or worked in toxic environments.

The Legal Services Board is planning to review a “random sample” of regulators’ disciplinary decisions to ensure the right processes and procedures are in place.

A solicitor convicted of illegally subletting his council flat knew “right from wrong” despite ill health and personal problems, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has found.

Four partners in a Welsh law firm have been fined for sitting on 979 residual balances, totalling over £468,000, for “lengthy periods of time” and where there had been no activity for six months.

A paralegal who was working at the Solicitors Regulation Authority has been banned from the profession after being jailed for online sexual offences involving children.

The Legal Services Consumer Panel has attacked SRA plans to reform the Compensation Fund, saying it should instead stop draining the fund to pay for closing down law firms.

The Bar Council and Bar Standards Board have announced a series of measures – including furloughing – to make savings of more than £200,000 to support the profession during the Covid-19 crisis.

A veteran solicitor who made an “inappropriate and offensive remark” while trying to pay a compliment has been fined by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Seven of the eight frontline regulators have “confirmed their continued commitment” to the Legal Choices website, despite the Solicitors Regulation Authority no longer wanting to run it.