Suspended sentence for solicitor who defrauded HMRC
A solicitor who fraudulently claimed £37,000 in income tax repayments has been handed a suspended prison sentence and told she was “wholly unsuitable to be a solicitor”. She over-claimed tax repayments. She did this by inflating expenses, including staff costs and refunds relating to clients’ divorce fees.
Legal market poised for “second wave” of external investment
The legal market is set for a “second wave” of external investment, a leading corporate financier said today, describing it as “an inevitable snowball that is gathering pace”. He identified several markets – from criminal law to large commercial firms – where there were opportunities for investors.
LSB lays out blueprint for radical reform of regulation
The Legal Services Board has today outlined its blueprint for radical reform of legal regulation, including regulation by activity rather than professional title, and a single regulator for the entire profession. The oversight regulator said its plan was intended to be a “durable solution rather than a further stepping stone to liberalisation”.
SDT strikes off solicitor for registering property for £10,000 below sale price
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off a solicitor who colluded with his non-solicitor employee wife, an estate agent, to misappropriate £10,000 after submitting to the Land Registry that a property had sold for less than the price actually paid.
Litigation aftermath of failed partnership returns to High Court
The latest skirmish in a long-running row between two solicitors whose partnership dissolved in acrimony, has seen the High Court rule that the failure of one to mention to his creditors that he had been struck off was a “material irregularity”.
Exclusive: Connect2Law is reborn as an ABS and buys Contact Law
One-time network Connect2Law has been reborn as an alternative business structure that has acquired leading referral business Contact Law, Legal Futures can reveal. It is part of a strategy to establish C2L as “the UK’s leading provider of branded consumer legal services” on behalf of businesses entering the legal market.
Assistant solicitor struck off for backdating letters
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has struck off an assistant solicitor for dishonestly backdating client letters to conceal missed court deadlines, in the latest of a string of disciplinary cases involving faked documents. In two cases, he closed files and backdated letters before an expected Lexcel re-accreditation inspection.
Law Society goes to war on SRA code of conduct reform
The Law Society has issued a damning critique of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s proposals for a streamlined code of conduct and – to a lesser extent – its planned overhaul of the accounts rules. The code of conduct proposals were misconceived, unnecessary, unclear, and would create a two-tier profession, it said.
Debt collection ABS pledges to undertake “genuine” no-win, no-fee
An ABS set up by the owner of a debt collection agency is promising to offer “genuine” no-win, no-fee deals in an industry where it accuses solicitors of being unwilling to take the rough with the smooth.
LSB tells Bar regulator not to keep changing the pass mark for aptitude test
The Legal Services Board has warned the Bar’s regulator that it cannot keep changing the cut score for the test would-be barristers have to pass before being allowed to take the Bar professional training course. However, it approved changes to the rules that will allow the BSB to lift the cut score this year.
