Regulation
Quality of AML reports from solicitors “getting worse”
The quality of one of the two main kinds of anti-money laundering reports made by solicitors has got significantly worse, a senior manager at the National Crime Agency said yesterday.
Commercial property solicitor’s “outrageous failure” leads to strike-off
A solicitor whose conduct of several property transactions has triggered multi-million-pound negligence claims against his former firm has now been struck off.
PII market “only getting harder” after 17% premium increase
The market for professional indemnity insurance is likely to continue to worsen but future premium rises should not be at the average of 17% seen this autumn, a leading broker has predicted.
Solicitor ordered to repay small part of legal aid fraud proceeds
A solicitor and her partner who defrauded a law firm and the Legal Aid Agency of almost £95,000 in a translation scam will have to repay just £5,584, a court decided last week.
Transparency “will cure ills” of conveyancing referral fees
Transparency over referral fees in conveyancing work will drive out bad practice, a government official said yesterday, while also calling for greater consistency in how law firms publish their prices.
Barristers aim to end “shocking” lack of diversity on Western Circuit
A group of barristers has launched a bid to end what they describe as a “shocking” lack of diversity on the Western Circuit, where none of the full-time circuit judges are from BAM) backgrounds.
Barristers sanctioned for misconduct while working as or for solicitors
Two barristers who have faced the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal have now been sanctioned by the Bar’s counterpart, with one being disbarred and the other reprimanded.
Lord Chancellor rails against lawyers who “vaunt political views” online
The Lord Chancellor yesterday told lawyers who “vaunt their political views” on social media to raise their profile and attract work that they are giving the profession a bad name.
SRA beefs up NDA guidance to highlight conduct concerns
The SRA has revised its guidance on NDAs to make clear that it is concerned about the conduct of practitioners advising on and negotiating them, as well as the terms of the agreement.
Black barristers report high levels of discrimination by judiciary
More Black barristers have reported experiencing racism from judges, magistrates and panel members than from other lawyers, a report has found.
Blog
Five key issues to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech
As generative AI starts to play a bigger role in our working lives, there are some key issues that your law firm needs to consider when adopting an AI-based legal tech.
Bulk litigation – not always working in consumers interests
For consumers to get the benefit, bulk litigation needs to be done well, and we are increasingly concerned that there are significant problems in some areas of this market.
ABSs, cost and audits – fixing regulation after Axiom Ince
A feature of law firm collapses and frauds has sometimes been the over-concentration of power in outdated and overburdened systems of control.
Reports
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