SRA slices £6m off budget while missing performance targets
The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s budget is to fall 7% – or £6m – in the next year, against the background of failing to meet two of its three performance targets.
SRA reveals cost of Leigh Day case and ministers’ intense interest
The Solicitors Regulation Authority revealed today that its investigation into Leigh Day cost £3.1m and also published correspondence that showed the close interest ministers took in the case.
Solicitor who owed barristers £146,000 in fees is struck off
A solicitor who admitted that he owed barristers over £146,000 in fees, and even took money from the estate of his dead mother, has been struck off.
ABSs forge ahead as number of conveyancing firms shrinks
Alternative business structures operating in conveyancing are significantly more positive about their future than traditional practices as the number of firms in the field continues to fall.
Law firms “will stop using email within five years”
Email will be replaced within five years by a more secure means of communication for law firms, an expert predicted this week. Meanwhile, the SRA is using behavioural science in its messaging.
Innovate UK backs bid to create “thinking” legal AI
Contract review business ThoughtRiver has been awarded funding from the government for a £400,000 development project to develop “thinking AI”.
Solicitor’s conviction for neglecting mother quashed
The Court of Appeal has quashed a jail sentence of two and a half years imposed on a solicitor, who specialised in care for the elderly, for neglecting her mother.
Multiplicity of legal regulators “not helping AML fight”
The “multiplicity” of legal and accountancy regulators in the UK is not helping the fight against money laundering, the Financial Action Task Force has complained.
Entrepreneur launches campaign to help litigants in person
An entrepreneur who successfully lobbied for changes in how the Foreign Office handles missing people has launched a new campaign to support litigants in person.
SRA: Law firms must be able to explain decisions made by AI
Law firms must be able to explain “automated decisions”, including those involving artificial intelligence (AI), the Solicitors Regulation Authority has warned.
