Regulation

An experienced barrister who made crude sexual comments to a student on a mini-pupillage thought he could act as he did “without anyone doing anything about it”, a tribunal has found.

Colin Poole, the solicitor boss of Claims Direct, deceived the company into paying him £9.75m when he failed to deliver on a promise to divest his interest in his law firm, the High Court has ruled.

A probe into the lessons of the Post Office scandal for corporate governance, criminal justice and lawyer regulation has been launched and will push regulators to effect change.

The SRA is to follow the approach of the Financial Conduct Authority when capping the fees law firms charge for financial services claims management work – and will leave personal injury work alone for now.

The SRA Compensation Fund paid out more than £10m to the victims of solicitors’ financial dishonesty last year, a 37% increase on the previous 12 months, new figures have shown.

The board of trustees and directors of Solicitors Regulation Authority Ltd met for the first time last week after agreeing the transfer of £9m in assets to the new company from the Law Society.

A law firm revenue controller given a suspended jail sentence after diverting £32,000 in payments meant for suppliers to his own bank account has been banned from working in the profession.

A hardening indemnity insurance market and pressure from the Law Society have persuaded the Solicitors Regulation Authority to keep the Solicitors Indemnity Fund open for a further year.

Barristers suspended for sexual misconduct should face conditions when they return to practice, such as bans from taking pupils or being featured in legal directories.

Well-known Lincoln’s Inn set Hardwicke Chambers is to change its name to Gatehouse Chambers in recognition of the role of Lord Hardwicke in perpetuating slavery in the 18th century.