Gloomy Slater & Gordon sees shares tumble to all-time low after warning of UK trading difficulties
The recovery of Slater & Gordon’s UK business is going “slower than expected”, with trading results being adjusted downwards as a result, and the negative mood about the firm is now hitting its home business in Australia, it has admitted in a trading update that appeared to be preparing investors for disappointing half-year results later this month.
Chaos as judicial appointments website crashes with 2,500 would-be recorders trying to take test
The Judicial Appointments Commission’s website crashed yesterday under the weight of up to 2,500 solicitors and barristers trying to take the online qualifying test that marks the first stage of a recorder recruitment competition that Lord Chancellor Liz Truss highlighted for its potential to improve diversity on the bench.
LSB to put regulators’ efforts to improve diversity under microscope
The Legal Services Board will next year carry out the first formal assessment of how the profession’s regulators have performed in improving diversity in their parts of the law, it has announced. Publishing its revised diversity guidance, the board said, however, that it expects to see the guidance influencing activities this year.
Law firm pioneer turned football executive is suspended by SDT
A former chief executive of Cheshire-based solicitors Forster Dean, who is now a leading football administrator in Northern Ireland, has been suspended by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal over accounts rule breaches.
Call to give SRA power to strike off solicitors
Disciplinary cases involving solicitors are now akin to High Court trials and there needs to be a major overhaul that would make the Solicitors Regulation Authority responsible for handing out all sanctions, including strike-offs, a former prosecutor has said.
‘Cash for crash’ gang that used claims companies to “corroborate fraudulent claims” found guilty
The trial of a large-scale ‘crash for cash’ gang which used accident management companies to funnel 111 fraudulent claims to 16 insurers has ended with five defendants found guilty of conspiracy to defraud, on top of seven who had already admitted their involvement.
Barrister fined for pestering women at chambers summer party cleared by High Court
The High Court has overturned a disciplinary tribunal finding against a barrister found to have pestered three women at a chambers summer party. Mrs Justice Lang said Stephen Howd’s “inappropriate, and at times offensive, behaviour was a consequence of his medical condition”, exacerbated by excessive alcohol.
Bolton law firm repays insurer £100,000 for “systematically inflating” costs
Claimant law firm Asons has agreed to repay more than £100,000 to AXA after admitting to falsely and systematically inflating its legal costs, the insurer said today. The dispute involved 65 personal injury cases where “Asons overstated the qualifications and experience of its legal staff to falsely inflate [its] bills”.
Tribunal fines solicitor convicted after being taken in by ‘Pope’s banker’ conman
The solicitor who safeguarded more than £100,000 of stolen cash for a charismatic conman posing as the Pope’s banker has been fined £2,000 following her conviction for transferring criminal property. The Crown Court judge had said she was “used” by fraudster Luis Nobre.
Legal Ombudsman suspends publication of complaints data over accuracy concerns
The Legal Ombudsman has pulled from its website the details of law firms and chambers that have been subject to complaints because of concerns over their accuracy, it has emerged. The names of all providers that have been involved in complaints resolved by an ombudsman decision are usually published quarterly.
