Barristers win 25% increase in rates for government work
Barristers doing government work will see a 25% increase in rates from 1 April, in some cases the first rise since the panels were first introduced in 1997.
SRA reopens case of business secretary calling himself a solicitor
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has reopened its investigation into business secretary Jonathan Reynolds describing himself as a solicitor.
Number of PI law firms drops a third in five years
The number of personal injury law firms has shrunk by more than a third in just five years, according to research which also found a “significant untapped market”.
Regulatory action against Post Office lawyers “could start this summer”
Both solicitors and barristers involved in the Post Office scandal could start to face disciplinary action by this summer, their regulators have declared.
First unsuccessful opt-out class rep to pay £14m in interim costs
The unsuccessful claimant in the first opt-out collective action decided by the Competition Appeal Tribunal has been ordered to make an interim costs payment of £14m.
Many divorcees do not understand the law – even if they had a lawyer
“Substantial proportions” of divorcees do not understand the law on how assets are split, even if they used a lawyer, the first research of its kind has found.
SRA report calls for major shift in lawyers’ approach to vulnerability
There should be a “fundamental alteration” in the way the legal sector approaches consumer vulnerability, taking an opt-out, rather than opt-in, approach, a study for the SRA has argued.
“Deeply caring” solicitor urged to reflect on professional boundaries
A solicitor has been urged to use a six-month suspension to separate his legal work from the counselling support he provides to sex offender clients, after mixing them led to rule breaches.
SRA must avoid “overzealous” approach to economic crime rules
The new statutory duty on lawyers to promote the “prevention and detection of economic crime” must not trigger an “over-zealous” response by the SRA, the Law Society has warned.
Call for new anti-SLAPP mechanism after “false dawn”
There needs to be a new early disposal mechanism for SLAPPs, academics have said, describing existing anti-SLAPP provisions as “a false dawn that will not address the problem”.
