FoI adjudicator accuses SRA of putting profession before public
The Law Society’s outgoing Freedom of Information adjudicator has told the Solicitors Regulation Authority that it does not consider the public interest sufficiently in too readily refusing to release details of its investigations.
High Court awards £50,000 damages to lawyer libelled in online review
An American lawyer has successfully sued over an online review posted by a British man, winning £50,000 damages at the High Court. Timothy Bussey, a criminal law attorney based in Colorado, found himself the target of a review attached to his firm’s Google Maps profile.
Law Society warns government against moves that threaten independence
The Law Society has spoken out against government plans to impose on the Solicitors Regulation Authority a duty to promote economic growth, which it said threatened the independence of the profession.
Peers pave way for new breed of lawyer – licensed probate practitioners
The House of Lords has given the Council for Licensed Conveyancers the power to issue standalone licences for people to conduct reserved probate work without them having to become licensed conveyancers first.
“Tragedy” of struck-off solicitor – but High Court upholds dishonesty finding
A solicitor with an “unblemished” record stretching back many years has failed in his attempt to appeal a Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal decision that found him guilty of dishonesty. Mr Justice Holman said it was a “great personal and professional tragedy”.
Innovation in providing legal services will be “paramount”, survey finds
A large majority of law firms think that, over the next five years, “innovation in providing legal services will be paramount” as they reach the limit of cost-cutting measures, a survey has found.
County court backs law student McKenzie Friend scheme
Huddersfield County Court has backed a scheme in which local law students act as unpaid McKenzie Friends to help litigants in person. Duty solicitors at the court will approve suitable cases when the scheme launches later this month.
Irwin Mitchell unveils new advertising push to “distance” itself from other firms
Irwin Mitchell has become the latest major consumer law firm to launch a new advertising campaign aimed across a spread of its services, including a personal injury commercial that it said would “distance” the practice from other firms.
Large law firms “most worried” about threats from ABSs and accountancy firms
Large law firms are most worried about the threat from alternative business structures (ABSs) and accountancy firms, but interest in becoming ABSs themselves is waning fast, new research has found.
No duty on solicitors to check credit status of parties, High Court rules
Solicitors are not under a general duty to check the credit status of parties in a commercial transaction unless instructed to, the High Court has ruled. Who to trust in a business situation is “a commercial decision for the client to take and not the solicitor”.
