Solicitor whose “dysfunctional firm” failed to pay stamp duty to HMRC is struck off
The “chaotic” situation at a solicitor’s firm was no excuse for her failure to pay stamp duty to the HMRC, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled. It said her recklessness in failing to make the payments needed to register title to a property in London amounted to a lack of integrity, and ordered her to be struck off.
Making law firms publish average prices “is not perfect but it is needed”
The slow pace of change in the legal services market means “regulatory intervention” is needed to force firms to publish their average prices even though it is not a perfect solution, the voice of legal consumers has said. The Legal Services Consumer Panel said this could also counter negative perceptions of lawyers.
Law Society lays into SRA over handbook rewrite and risk of creating “two-tier” profession
The Law Society has blasted Solicitors Regulation Authority plans to allow solicitors to practise from unregulated businesses, saying they risk creating a two-tier profession and eroding the standing of the profession. Chancery Lane said they would also leave clients with less protection.
Consumers “generally satisfied” with legal services providers, key survey finds
There are high levels of consumer satisfaction with legal services, according to a survey commissioned by the Competition and Markets Authority. However, those who were not happy usually did not bother complaining because it was thought to be too time-consuming or would not achieve much.
Personal injury lawyer who faced “perfect storm” is struck off
A personal injury lawyer who faced “what could almost be described as a perfect storm” of legal aid cuts and a doubling of his rent has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. The SDT said that rather than approaching his bank, the solicitor took a decision to “plunder client account”.
CMA report reignites regulatory independence row
Friday’s Competition and Markets Authority report on legal services has reignited the debate over independent regulation, with both the Solicitors Regulation Authority and Bar Standards Board welcoming the call for separation from their representative bodies.
1,000 barristers join forces to lobby for Act of Parliament before article 50 is triggered
Some 1,053 barristers from across the United Kingdom have signed a letter to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for an Act of Parliament before any decision is made to leave the European Union. The barristers also said that any Act should be preceded by a free vote.
Competition in legal market not working as well as it could, CMA finds
Competition in legal services for individual and small business consumers is not working as well as it might, with lack of transparency over price and service the main problem, the provisional report of the Competition and Markets Authority has found.
Court of Appeal: no room for “grandiloquent, rhetorical” advocacy in modern trials
The “grandiloquent, rhetorical and at times almost facetious” advocacy style of a criminal defence barrister has no place in modern trials, the Court of Appeal has said. It found the barrister “certainly appears to take a considerable degree of satisfaction in having a style all of his own”.
Lord Chief Justice calls for codification of criminal law
The Lord Chief Justice has revived Lord Bingham’s call for criminal law to be codified in a single document. Among the arguments put forward by Lord Thomas were there were fewer criminal law specialists as expertise was “increasingly diverted elsewhere”.
