News

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A ‘fake’ lawyer and three non-solicitor staff who have taken money from their firms have received banning orders from the Solicitors Regulation Authority. All are now subject to so-called section 43 orders, which prevent non-solicitors from being employed or remunerated by solicitors and their firms without permission from the regulator.

The new Online Court will not “ban lawyers” and there will be “a very limited element of fixed costs” so litigants can get initial legal advice, Lord Justice Briggs has said. He said the top limit for claims in the Online Court “may have to start at £10,000”, rather than £25,000.

Only a tiny number of law firms follow up enquiries from potential clients after making initial contact with them, ‘mystery shopper’ research has found. And even that initial contact is often too slow in a world where ever-more rapid responses are expected.

Richard Barnett, the senior partner of collapsed conveyancing firm Barnetts, has attacked what he describes as the “incredibly unfair” disciplinary regime for solicitors. Mr Barnett lost an appeal against his striking off at the High Court earlier this week.

Large numbers of barristers’ chambers are flouting an obligation to publish diversity data and the Bar Standards Board has been “unsophisticated” in its implementation of Legal Services Board diversity rules, a significant study has concluded.

The full scale of the allegations of misconduct against law firm Leigh Day, senior partner Martyn Day and partner Sapna Malik were published on Friday, including claims that they had made allegations over the British Army’s conduct in Iraq when it was “improper” to do so.

Chambers carrying out immigration work have voiced a “unanimous and strong opinion” that they “repeatedly experience poor standards of service from solicitors”, a Bar Standards Board report has found. Complaints included “delays and outright failure” to pay barristers.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has fined two more law firms for advising on conveyancing transactions in which clients were party to schemes to avoid the payment of almost £8m in stamp duty land tax – for which the firms received £160,000 between them on top of their regular fees.

Alternative business structures are three times more likely than regular firms to offer “novel online solutions for clients wishing to access their services”, according to the Council for Licensed Conveyancers as we round up ABS news from up and down the country.

Law firms should offer “paralegal services” to cut the cost of advice on family matters, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has suggested. In a report for the Legal Services Board, the panel also called for greater use of unbundling and fixed fees.