Compliance & Regulation
Legal Ombudsman seeks 10% budget hike as delays persist
The Legal Ombudsman has proposed a 10.2% increase in its budget, or £1.8m, as it struggles to bring down the longstanding backlog of complaints.
Axiom Ince report: The full story of what went wrong at the SRA
The review of the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s handling of Axiom Ince shows it missed an opportunity to uncover the fraud a year before it eventually shut the firm down.
Axiom Ince report: No law firm should go years without an SRA visit
Law firms should not go “many years” without receiving a visit from the Solicitors Regulation Authority, the Carson McDowell report for the Legal Services Board has recommended.
Criticism rains down on SRA but M&A controls spark worry too
Criticism of the Solicitors Regulation Authority poured in yesterday in the wake of the report into how it dealt with Axiom Ince, although the notion of more controls on M&A sparked concern.
SRA “should have done more” to prevent Axiom Ince, says LSB report
The SRA “did not take all the steps it could or should have taken” ahead of the collapse of Axiom Ince, the review commissioned by Legal Services Board declared today.
Fine for solicitor who sent “threatening” Covid letters to schools
A solicitor who sent “threatening” letters to at least 244 secondary schools, telling them they could be at risk of criminal or civil liability for implementing Covid measures, has been fined £2,500.
“Appalling” partner struck off for creating toxic workplace
A law firm’s co-owner has been struck off for “appalling conduct” that involved violence, bullying and harassment aimed at junior colleagues.
Law firm rebuked for not distributing estate after merger
A Surrey law firm that failed to deal with an estate it took on after merging with another practice has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
Report: Trust in legal services high but more costs transparency needed
Most people have trust and confidence in legal services, but would like the Solicitors Regulation Authority to do more on their cost, major new research has found.
SRA: Timing of Post Office and Axiom Ince prosecutions uncertain
It is too early to say when prosecutions arising out of the Post Office scandal and Axiom Ince will occur, the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority said yesterday.
Blog
It’s time for law firms to ask tougher questions
For years, many law firms have treated ID verification as a box-ticking exercise. Run a liveness check, match a face to a document and move on. But that is no longer good enough.
Business fatigue to AI will risk job security
Whilst we know professional learning has always been part of career paths, to hire, retain and keep talent, AI needs to be embedded as a core part of this training.
On good authority? GenAI and the reputational risks to law firms
As GenAI’s influence grows, so do the risks which are already playing out in courtrooms across England and Wales, where some early adopters are setting precedents they would rather not.
