Compliance & Regulation
Law firm alliance will have chance to seek vote of no confidence in SRA
The newly formed SME & Boutique Law Firm Alliance will have the chance to call for a vote of no confidence in the SRA at next month’s Law Society AGM.
Exclusive: BSB pauses new applications to requalify by foreign lawyers
The Bar Standards Board is pausing work on new applications from foreign lawyers looking to requalify as barristers as it continues to struggle with the number of them.
Legal profession has replaced ethics with ‘not acting illegally’
The legal profession has “tried effectively to outsource its soul to its regulators” by substituting acting ethically with the absence of illegality, a City law grandee has warned.
Firms warned over threshold for client interest payments
Law firms must be careful not to impose policies on client account interest that set too high a de minimis threshold, a senior reporting accountant has warned.
Solicitor jailed for stealing from hundreds of clients struck off
A conveyancing solicitor jailed for 30 months after defrauding a Hereford law firm out of at least £161,000 has now been struck off.
SRA privilege ruling may be problem for solicitors under investigation
This week’s Carter-Ruck ruling could be bad news for some solicitors under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, experts have warned.
Solicitor struck off for dishonesty fails in second bid to return to roll
The SDT has rejected a second application to return to the roll from a solicitor struck off for dishonesty, less than a year after it dismissed his first.
Paralegal called in sick when actually facing Crown Court trial
A paralegal who was convicted of a public order offence and lied to her employer about why she was not in work that day has been banned from the profession.
Mayson: Collapse of PM Law “predictable outcome of outdated regulation”
The collapse of PM Law was the “predictable outcome of a regulatory architecture built for a different market and a different time”, Professor Stephen Mayson has argued.
Law societies oppose SRA’s new litigation funding rules
The national Law Society and Birmingham Law Society have argued against SRA plans for law firms which use litigation funding – but the Legal Services Consumer Panel is a big fan.
Immigration firm wins appeal against licence removal
An immigration firm fell below its expected standards “in a number of respects” but this did not justify the decision to withdraw its licence to operate, a tribunal has ruled.
Carter-Ruck ruling leaves SRA “toothless”, campaigners warn
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has been left as “little more than a paper tiger” by yesterday’s High Court ruling on privileged material, it has been claimed.
Ban for paralegal who made violent threats to ex-partner
A paralegal jailed after bombarding his ex-partner with threats, including claims he would “destroy” her life, has been banned from the legal profession.
High Court: SRA does not have power to view privileged material
The SRA does not have the right to require the production of privileged documents from law firms without a waiver from the client, the High Court has ruled today.
Jail for barrister who conspired with client to injure attacker
The criminal defence barrister who helped a gangster trace a gunman who tried to assassinate him has been jailed for three years and three months.
Blog
AI can do the work but it cannot inherit the lawyer’s duty
What happens when lawyers delegate cognitive work to AI but remain personally responsible for judgements they may no longer have independently reasoned through?
How to make work experience meaningful
When I had the pleasure of work experience, I made tea, collected lunch and mostly watched someone work. I didn’t bother with the last three days. I am not sure they noticed.
Lawyer burnout is not inevitable: what to do differently
Burnout is not simply an unavoidable cost of being a lawyer. Law firms cannot talk seriously about burnout without talking about how they design the work.
Reports
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