Solicitors

Consumers are more worried about the fee conveyancers charge to transfer their money than the risk of it being stolen, research has found at the same time that a solicitor is jailed for fraud.

The liquidators of Asons have settled their claim against its successor practice, after alleging that the controversial personal injury law firm was sold at an undervalue.

A law firm earned some £800,000 in fees on three failed property development schemes as well as ‘quick sale’ conveyancing where it acted for both sides, a tribunal has heard.

A virtual law business that uniquely combines regulated and unregulated legal practices, with lawyers in the UK and across the world, has launched a subsidiary in the USA.

The boss of the Solicitors Regulation Authority has told junior lawyers that he is satisfied that its handling of the Claire Matthews case was “appropriate”.

A solicitor who closed his firm in a chaotic manner after it was devastated by the personal injury reforms – even allowing two clients to attend court without representation – has been suspended.

A solicitor who “reluctantly” admitted that he acted dishonestly in telling the other side of a dispute that counsel would be attending a mediation, when she had not been instructed, has been struck off.

The Law Commission should review whether regulators such as the Solicitors Regulation Authority should be insulated from costs orders in disciplinary actions they lose, a senior judge has suggested.

A law firm shut down by its regulator last year has been ordered to pay former staff £375,000 for multiple employment law breaches.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is to look again at whether to close the Solicitors Indemnity Fund – which covers claims made after firms’ run-off cover expires – in September this year.

A solicitor who let his firm operate without indemnity insurance, then lied about it to his regulator and a new insurer, has been struck off.

Non-parties should in principle be given access to documents placed before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal and referred to during hearings, it has emphasised in a new policy.

Law firms unable to secure professional indemnity insurance because of Covid-19 can prolong the extended indemnity period by agreement and with regulatory approval.

An experienced solicitor who allowed her firm’s client account to be used as a banking facility in a £8m “cheque-clearing scheme” has been struck off.

City law firm Kennedys is to launch a 30-month ‘graduate solicitor apprenticeship’ when the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) comes into effect in autumn 2021.