Regulation
Apprenticeships “not working for the disadvantaged”
Workers from disadvantaged backgrounds are being left behind by the apprenticeship system, including in the law, with numbers slumping by more than a third since the apprenticeship levy was introduced.
Solicitor who used client money to buy jewellery is struck off
A director of a former London law firm who admitted fabricating grants of probate and using client money to buy jewellery has been struck off.
Call for Inns to act as pupillage shortage worsens
The Inns of Court should build a “large co-working space”, possibly on one of their “grand gardens”, to increase the number of pupillages at a time when record numbers are looking for them.
Solicitor fined after conviction for abusive Facebook messages
A junior solicitor diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome who was convicted after sending a woman he briefly dated abusive Facebook messages has now been fined £10,000 by a disciplinary tribunal.
Solicitor failed to advise on “obvious risks” of off-plan schemes
A solicitor who failed to advise on the “obvious risks” of four off-plan property development schemes has been fined £10,000. His advice was “so inadequate as to be incompetent”.
Solicitor faked court documents to mislead client
A solicitor has been struck off for falsifying court documents to make a client think his application to extend his leave to remain in the UK had been made before the leave had expired.
Your chambers aren’t colour blind, top QC tells barristers
Barristers who believe their chambers are ‘colour-blind’ and treat everyone the same “have a problem” and need to change their mindset, a high-profile black QC has said.
Tribunal upholds LSB decision not to release Leigh Day emails
The First-tier Tribunal has upheld the decision of the Legal Services Board not to release an email exchange with the Solicitors Regulation Authority over the Leigh Day case.
SRA to launch project on BAME student underachievement
The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to begin a multi-year project to increase understanding of why Black, Asian and minority ethnic students perform worse than white students.
Licensed conveyancers to embrace third-party managed accounts
A revised accounts code that expressly allows firms of licensed conveyancers to use third-party managed accounts has been approved by the Legal Services Board.
Large chambers “should give space to smaller ones”
Large chambers should be prepared to look after smaller sets “chased out” by their landlords by sharing premises and clerks, a senior criminal law barrister has said.
Firm boss cleared of telling clients to delete holiday posts
The managing director of a Liverpool law firm has been cleared a tribunal of telling holiday sickness clients to delete social media posts which could undermine their claims.
90% of law firms “breaching transparency rules”
The vast majority of law firms are still failing to comply with the SRA rules on price transparency, a survey has found. The news comes with the regulator planning to step up its checks.
GMC can investigate solicitor doctor over legal advice
A claim that a solicitor who is also a doctor provided dishonest advice to his clients can be subject to the General Medical Council’s disciplinary process, the High Court has ruled
EHRC urges compulsory disability training for lawyers
Disability awareness should be a professional requirement, and a mandatory element of criminal lawyers’ CPD, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has recommended.
Blog
Forming good remote work habits for law firms
13 July 2020
You likely know the pearl of wisdom that it takes three weeks to make or break a habit. That rule was laid down in a random 1970s self-help book, but in reality, how many habits have you actually changed in just 21 days?
Planning for retirement
8 July 2020
In 2006 I started thinking about retirement whilst founding a boutique practice specialising in partnership and employment law. Ten years later, a friend told me that I would never be able to retire.
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