Former Mishcons partner convicted of forgery and fraud offences
A former partner of London law firm Mishcon de Reya was yesterday convicted of forgery and two fraud offences aimed at conning a bank out of €22m. Kevin James Steele, 51 of Kent, will be sentenced on 9 January 2012.
Exclusive: video-conferencing kiosks hit shopping centres in new legal advice push
The first video-conferencing kiosk to give instant access to a solicitor will be launched in a shopping centre this month, Legal Futures can reveal. Instant Law UK, which plans 120 kiosks by the end of 2012, will add a home-user service next month.
CPS drops charges against solicitors and doctors accused of ATE insurance fraud
The Crown Prosecution Service has dropped charges against 11 solicitors and doctors who were accused of a £4m referral fee fraud involving after-the-event legal expenses insurance. The lawyers may instead be referred to the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
America poised to embrace LDPs – but go no further towards ABSs
America last week moved a major step closer to introducing a version of legal disciplinary practices (LDPs), while ruling out multi-disciplinary practices. The American Bar Association has noted the “remarkable” growth of LDPs in England and Wales.
Tribunal judges call for regulatory controls over non-lawyer employment advisers
The Legal Ombudsman should have jurisdiction over non-lawyer employment advisers as part of work to improve consumer protection in the field, employment judges have suggested. Their primary concern was the lack of consistency in the redress available to claimants.
Number of public access barristers shoots up as BSB bids to relax direct instruction rules further
The Bar Standards Board is set to remove two key restrictions that fetter more members of the public instructing barristers directly, after a record number of barristers took the public access training course this year.
SRA fires the starting gun for ABS applications
The Solicitors Regulation Authority will begin accepting licensing applications for alternative business structures from 3 January 2012, with the first successful ones announced within around six weeks, it announced today.
Law Society set for push to improve equality and diversity practices across solicitors' profession
The Law Society is considering whether any law firm which recruits trainee solicitors should have to undergo mandatory training in equality and diversity, Legal Futures can report. It may also work with the largest City law firms to help them recruit more black and minority ethnic lawyers.
Keeping the Information Commissioner off your back
The recent case of a Scottish advocate’s stolen, unencrypted laptop raises some important questions regarding data controller responsibility, portable media (not just laptops) and the options available for securing such media, explains Matt Torrens.
Law firm investor in talks with more than 25 practices
The first business to announce its intention to invest in law firms has already spoken to more than 25 interested practices, it has revealed. However, In-Deed’s half-year results have revealed a very slow start to its online conveyancing business, with only 120 instructions in four months.
