Regulation

A solicitor who sent “inappropriate, derogatory and offensive emails” to a client and his mother, describing him as a “sad and pathetic man”, has been censured by a tribunal.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority could face a cash shortage if the new anti-money laundering rules increase the number of firms it supervises, it has warned.

Some 58% of women in the legal profession say they or women they work with have received inappropriate comments from male colleagues relating to their gender, new research has found.

Pass rates on the legal practice course have fallen significantly, while the achievement gap between white and ethnic minority students remains large, new research has found.

A north-west law firm has launched a referral scheme for other solicitors, against a national backdrop where the survival of networks formerly in Pannone’s Connect2Law suggests the model is alive and well.

A solicitor claiming to have become overwhelmed by pressure of work has been struck off after misleading clients that she had made court applications – even faking an email in one instance.

A partner who overcharged clients and then lied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority about sending bills to them has been struck off. A fellow partner was suspended for failing to stop this.

An insurance intermediary in the City of London has opened the door to the new breed of freelance solicitors by launching the first indemnity cover for them.

A former head of private client accused of overcharging an estate by up to £30,000 when acting as executor has been cleared of misconduct by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

A non-lawyer owner of an alternative business structure responsible for multiple rule breaches – including a £3.6m shortfall on his firm’s client account – has been banned.

A solicitor who employed a banned barrister as a consultant without checking his identity or his record with the Bar Standards Board has been fined £20,000.

Unlimited paid holiday leave has helped raise overall productivity, improved teamwork and reduced sick leave, according to one of the first law firms to adopt it.

A paralegal at listed law firm DWF has become the first chartered legal executive to qualify through an apprenticeship, an appropriate landmark for National Apprenticeship Week.

Five associations representing law lecturers and academics have urged the Solicitors Regulation Authority to delay the introduction of the Solicitors Qualifying Exam.

Former Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith is not a “future risk” to the public or the profession despite his “inappropriate conduct” with a junior colleague, the SDT has said in its long-awaited ruling.