High Court hears how squabbling barristers turned family hearing into “shouting match”
There is a “concerning tendency on the part of the advocates simply to interrupt each other in an effort to advance their competing submissions”, a High Court judge has said as he reviewed a hearing that turned into a “shouting match”.
Conveyancer banned for covering up mistakes with her own money
A conveyancing fee-earner who covered up her mistakes by paying two lenders what they were owed out of her own pocket has been banned from working in the profession. The Solicitors Regulation Authority said it was “undesirable for her to be involved in a legal practice”.
Solicitor suspended for assaulting “coercive and manipulative” mother
A solicitor who assaulted his “coercive and manipulative” mother after they had both been drinking has been suspended by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for four months. He played the tribunal an audio recording in which his mother “repeatedly used foul language about his sister”, stating that she hated her.
Pass the salt – BSB to maintain role of inns and ‘qualifying dinners’ in barrister training
Dinners at the Inns of Court will remain part of the world of prospective barristers after the Bar Standards Board decided to maintain the role of the inns in their training. But in the light of cases where barristers and students have been found to have lied about their qualifications, the regulator is introducing greater checks on students’ backgrounds.
Start-up aims to change the way companies manage legal costs
A start-up is aiming to change the way large firms buy legal services by offering them a software tool to calculate and manage their costs. ClearCosts enables general counsel and other major buyers of legal services to calculate “a proportionate fee for each stage of a dispute” and measure their lawyers’ performance.
SRA unveils sweeping reforms to indemnity insurance and compensation fund
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has today unveiled its second attempt to reduce the compulsory level of professional indemnity insurance to £500,000 – although conveyancers would have to secure £1m in cover. It also wants to turn the Compensation Fund explicitly into a ‘hardship’ fund and ban relatively wealthy people from claiming on it.
High Court lifts threat to solicitor in wake of former partner’s mortgage fraud
A threat to make a former partner of a corrupt solicitor who was part of a £30m mortgage fraud pay £205,000 in damages has been lifted when the High Court struck out a claim by one of the mortgage companies.
Advertising watchdog censures SDLT firm that implied SRA endorsement
A company promoting stamp duty land tax avoidance schemes has been censured for making it look as though the Solicitors Regulation Authority endorsed its activities. Both HM Revenue & Customs and a tax lawyer complained to the Advertising Standards Authority about the website of Fiducia Wealth & Tax.
Whiplash reforms could cost claimant lawyers £80m, government says
The whiplash reforms could cost claimant lawyers £80m in lost fees a year, the Ministry of Justice said yesterday as it unveiled its final impact assessment of the changes contained in the Civil Liability Bill. It also projected that they would cost claimants £990m in lost compensation and having to pay legal fees out of their damages.
National law firm fined £20,000 for using client account as banking facility
National law firm Laytons has been fined £20,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for using its client account as a banking facility for a European network of law firms, a foreign client and a tax practitioners’ group. Three of the firm’s longest serving partners were also fined.
