Property Ombudsman fires warning over conditional selling
The Property Ombudsman has told home buyers to stand up for themselves in the face of estate agency pressure to use a preferred conveyancer or other service provider.
Revealed: SRA withdraws complaints-handling rule changes
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has suddenly withdrawn proposed rule changes to improve how solicitors handle complaints from approval by the Legal Services Board.
Law firm granted injunction following major disclosure error
A London law firm has been granted an injunction for the return of thousands of confidential and privileged documents that it disclosed by mistake to the opposing side in litigation.
Tribunal “right” to take Sidhu’s status into account in disbarment
The tribunal that disbarred Jo Sidhu KC was “certainly not wrong” to regard his status as rendering his conduct towards a mini-pupil particularly serious, the High Court has ruled.
LSB names chief executive as BSB starts search for a new one
The Legal Services Board has named Richard Orpin as its new chief executive, having been acting up in the role for the last six months.
Paralegal banned for dishonest emails as supervisor cleared
A paralegal who lied to solicitors in one email and to a client’s relative in another has been banned – but the solicitor who supervised her exonerated.
Top offshore firm eyes new locations after taking external capital
Leading offshore law firm Walkers is eyeing geographic growth after becoming the latest to take external cash after agreeing a “strategic co-investment” into its fund and corporate services business.
Staff churn drops sharply as Knights reports positive results
Listed law firm Knights has significantly reduced staff churn, according to half-year results which showed a 30% rise in turnover to £130m, albeit most of it from acquisitions.
Billing practices and fair briefing among new Bar chair’s priorities
A campaign to improve billing practices at the Bar and work with solicitors on fair briefing are among the priorities outlined last night by the new chair of the Bar Council.
The new Mazur? ‘Solicitor agent’ does not have rights of audience
A so-called solicitor’s agent did not meet the Legal Services Act 2007 requirements for rights of audience, a district judge has ruled.
