Solicitor told trainee to draft misleading defence to barrister’s fee claim
A solicitor who told a trainee to draft an “incorrect and misleading” defence to an unpaid fees claim from a barrister – which ignored his firm’s liability for the money – has been fined £7,500.
Websites of top-100 law firms “slow and full of broken links”
A study of top 100 law firm websites has rated only one as ‘excellent’ in terms of speed and only 13% as having no broken links, with many riddled with basic SEO errors.
More NHS claims settling pre-issue but legal costs continue to rise
NHS Resolution concluded a record 77% of claims without court proceedings in the last year but both claimant and defendant legal costs rose, its annual report has revealed.
MoJ considers £5,000 costs cap to protect defendants against SLAPPs
The Ministry of Justice has suggested that people defending themselves from strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) could be protected by a £5,000 costs cap.
Solicitors at incorporated firms should not give personal undertakings
Lawyers at incorporated law firms should not give personal undertakings even though the corporate undertakings are not enforceable, the Law Society has said.
Estate agents need “more respect” from conveyancers
Nearly four in ten estate agents (39%) believe that greater “mutual respect” would most improve their relationship with conveyancers, but lawyers would prefer to see a focus on better collaboration.
Solicitor who considered herself “beyond regulation” is struck off
A solicitor who made false and misleading statements on applications for professional indemnity insurance has been struck off and ordered to pay costs of over £124,000.
Regulator threatens legal action over CILEX talks with SRA
CILEx Regulation could take legal action following the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives’ announcement that it is talking to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about becoming its regulator.
Legal Ombudsman on track to halve backlog by March 2023
The Legal Ombudsman is on course to meet its goal of halving the backlog of cases waiting for investigation by March 2023, with its output increasing significantly, the chief ombudsman has said.
Public uncomfortable with tech firms’ use of court data
Less than a fifth of the public are comfortable with the use of data from the courts by tech companies, but more are happy with it being used to predict the outcome of cases.
