Solicitors

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is set to appoint a new executive director for strategy and innovation, filling a hole for a policy specialist in the regulator’s senior management team.

A solicitor accused of sending a witness statement that was likely to mislead Ofsted and the First-tier Tribunal has been cleared of any wrongdoing. He was found to have acted in good faith.

A partner at City giant Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer should not have had sex with a drunken junior lawyer after a night out, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal ruled yesterday as it fined him £35,000.

A solicitor has been struck off after being sentenced to a year in prison for fraudulently siphoning off more than £13,000 from his firm and initially trying to obstruct an investigation of the crime.

A solicitor who said his role was as his firm’s “figurehead”, like the Queen – and underestimated his wife’s work in running its accounts – has been struck off over improper withdrawals from client accounts.

A young solicitor who lied to his City employer about passing an insolvency exam – saying it had a “toxic and uncaring environment” – has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal.

A male solicitor who groped a junior female colleague on two occasions and accepted a police caution for sending her an obscene text message has been suspended for 18 months.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has pledged to add its “unique voice” to the wider policy debate on access to justice issues as it looks to become more assertive.

A former partner in the London office of US firm Akin Gump has been struck off after making nearly £25,000 of false expenses claims. He said he was suffering from a severe depressive illness.

MP Sir Norman Lamb has called on the SRA to investigate national law firm Hill Dickinson over claims it failed to disclose a crucial document in a whistleblowing dispute involving the NHS.

The SRA could ask law firms to pay for their own research and writing skills tests when hiring trainees, instead of testing them in stage 1 of the new Solicitors Qualifying Exam, it has emerged.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority was wrong to sanction a senior finance partner at City giant Hogan Lovells for discriminating against his children’s pregnant nanny, a leading regulatory QC has said.

A solicitor and her practice manager husband jailed last year for legal aid fraud and facing a £7m civil claim from the Ministry of Justice have now been referred to a disciplinary tribunal.

A chatbot for people with learning disabilities, tools to help women facing domestic violence, and data-supported advice on employment disputes are among the Legal Access Challenge finalists.

A solicitor has been suspended for five years after becoming entangled in a financial scam and unwittingly using her professional status to rope in other victims, as well as losing money herself.