Compliance & Regulation
SDT removes conditions on “redeemed” solicitor’s practice
A solicitor prevented from being a law firm owner, partner or compliance officer for the last seven years has successfully applied to have the conditions on her practising certificate removed.
LSB’s economic crime guidance may foster inconsistent approaches
Proposed new guidance on how the legal regulators should meet their new statutory duty to deal with economic crime could lead to inconsistencies of approach.
Lack of sanction for costs draftsman shows “hole in regulation”
A judge’s comments on the lack of recourse against an unregulated costs draftsman should focus minds on this hole in legal regulation, the Association of Costs Lawyers has argued.
Bar Council: BSB’s proposed equality rule change is unlawful
The new, proactive equality duty proposed by the Bar Standards Board could lead to litigation with barristers and is unlawful, the Bar Council said yesterday.
High Court upholds LeO’s decision to dismiss complaint
The Legal Ombudsman was right to dismiss a complaint it thought better suited to be determined in court, a judge has ruled.
Fine for solicitor who used client account as personal banking facility
A solicitor who used his firm’s client account as a personal banking facility did not need to admit that he had damaged public trust, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has held.
Mayson: Lawyers must prioritise public interest over clients
Lawyers seem to have forgotten that the public interest trumps the client interest and this needs to change, Professor Stephen Mayson has argued.
Barrister disbarred for making ‘fundamentally dishonest’ PI claim
A barrister who a court found had been fundamentally dishonest in making a personal injury claim has been disbarred.
SRA lays out major reforms to how solicitors hold client money
Major changes to the way law firms hold client money, including not retaining interest and restricting the collection of fees in advance, were proposed yesterday by the SRA.
“Reasons to be cautious” about pre-approval of law firm M&A
There are “reasons to be cautious” around the Solicitors Regulation Authority becoming more involved when law firms go through mergers and acquisitions, it said yesterday.