KPMG hit with £3m fine for Quindell audit failures
Big Four accountant KPMG has been reprimanded and fined £3.15m by the Financial Reporting Council after admitting misconduct in its auditing of former personal injury alternative business structure Quindell. William Smith, KPMG’s ‘audit engagement partner’, was fined £84,000 after an investigation lasting nearly three years.
Lord Chief Justice hails potential of big data and AI to reduce litigation and promote settlement
The Lord Chief Justice has called the ability of computers to use big data to predict outcomes “one of the most exciting developments of the age” and forecast the technology would be used to prevent litigation and promote settlements. In the long run, he anticipated that AI would reduce the number of disputes reaching trial.
Jail for solicitor who forged documents and stole £800,000 of client money
A dishonest solicitor who forged documents and stole clients’ mortgage payments after taking the reins of a law firm has been jailed for seven years and six months. Andrew John Davies, 34, was jailed at Bolton Crown Court having pleaded guilty to 42 charges including fraud, forgery and money laundering at an earlier hearing.
Call for action as firm hit by big VAT demand for electronic property searches
The risk of solicitors being landed with hefty VAT bills for electronic property searches has become a reality for at least one law firm, which has now received a demand from HM Revenue & Customs for tens of thousands of pounds. It has heightened the call for the tax treatment of postal and electronic searches to be made consistent.
Sanctions for solicitor who posted offensive comments on Facebook and barrister who got clerk to lie
A solicitor who made offensive remarks in a private Facebook group has been rebuked and fined, while other unusual disciplinary decisions announced yesterday included a suspension for a barrister who got her clerk to lie about her availability for a hearing.
Online court’s strategy for assisting digitally excluded “needs reshaping”, says CJC report
The Ministry of Justice is at risk of freezing out a large number of vulnerable people from accessing the online court if it does not reshape its strategy for assisting the ‘digitally excluded’, according to a major study by the Civil Justice Council. Meanwhile, another report called for further research targeted at hard-to-reach groups such as the homeless and detained persons.
Bar Council chair says he would vote for government’s criminal legal aid deal
The chairman of the Bar Council said yesterday that he would support the £15m deal being offered by the Ministry of Justice to end the action over criminal legal aid fees, as barristers began voting on whether to accept it. It came amid sharply divergent views from others about whether barristers should be standing shoulder to shoulder with solicitors.
Public opposed to government’s personal injury reforms, survey finds
Four in five motorists do not think it is likely that their insurer will cut premiums after saving more than £1bn under the government’s personal injury (PI) reforms. A similar number would not know what to do if the reforms forced them to pursue a PI claim on their own.
Top holiday sickness firm among 27 facing SRA probe amid claims “the bubble has burst”
A law firm that topped the table for holiday sickness claims is among 27 claimant firms being investigated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, it has emerged. A leading defendant solicitor said he was surprised to see the firm heading the list, because it was “not one we had pretty much ever heard of”.
Court users “must buy in to reforms”, says MoJ as it pledges vulnerable will not be left behind
The Ministry of Justice’s top civil servant has told MPs that the government’s massive court reform programme will have failed if it does not carry the support of those who work in and use the courts. Meanwhile, the chief executive of HM Courts and Tribunal Service stressed that non-digital systems would remain alongside digital ones.
