Compliance & Regulation

The Bar Standards Board has decided not to investigate a gender-critical barrister who was accused of being transphobic by misgendering two trans lawyers.

The government last week closed what campaigners called a “small loophole” to ensure that NDAs do not prevent victims from accessing legal and other advice relating to criminal conduct.

The Bar Council said yesterday that membership of the men-only Garrick Club creates “the potential for unfair advantage” when it came to practitioners needing references to become judges.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to speed up its investigation into the collapse of Sheffield law firm SSB Law, MPs said this week, with one calling out “dodgy” solicitors.

The Legal Services Board is set to trim back the increase in its budget for the coming year to 10%, while also approving a 7% rise in the Legal Ombudsman’s budget.

MPs’ backing for a review of legal regulation has split opinion in the market, pitching the Legal Services Consumer Panel and Professor Stephen Mayson against the Law Society.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority’s approach to fines has been branded unfair and “schizophrenic” in the wake of hefty penalties handed out to solicitors convicted of drink-driving.

A former solicitor struck off after being jailed for five years for perverting the course of justice has failed in his attempt to return to the profession.

The case for re-examining the regulatory framework created by the Legal Services Act 2007 is “growing stronger and stronger”, MPs have told the government.

Who lawyers choose to act for is not a regulatory issue – and the Solicitors Regulation Authority needs to be clear on this, a leading legal regulatory specialist said yesterday.