Property
Solicitor suspended for not disclosing own-interest conflict
A law firm owner has been suspended for not disclosing conflicts of interest to clients, including that his wife was a director of the property development company they were buying from.
Council fines law firm for breaking law in collecting rent for clients
The First-tier Tribunal has upheld an £8,400 fine imposed on a law firm for not belonging to a client money protection scheme while collecting rent for properties owned by clients.
“Fast conveyancing” firm meets accelerated target 80% of the time
A law firm that promises home movers “fast conveyancing” has told Legal Futures that it meets its targets for accelerated exchanges 80% of the time.
Solicitor breached undertaking and loaned client cash to correct it
A solicitor who paid away proceeds of a property sale in breach of an undertaking and then loaned the client the money to make up the shortfall, has been fined for misconduct.
Assistant solicitor fined for costly undertaking failures
An assistant solicitor whose failure to comply with an undertaking in a property transaction cost his firm’s insurer £440,000 has been fined £5,500.
Legal market’s strong growth in 2024 set to continue this year
The UK legal services market grew by 10% to £52bn last year and is heading towards a strong 2025 too, according to new research.
SDT: Solicitor gave undertaking even if he did not call it one
An assurance given by a solicitor in a conveyancing transaction was an undertaking, even if he did not use the word, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal has ruled.
£86m of client money went through in-house solicitor’s personal account
An elderly in-house solicitor who handled reserved legal work without authorisation, and used his personal bank account to process £86m of client money, has agreed to leave the profession.
Law firm avoids tribunal referral over PEP due diligence failures
A law firm that failed to conduct proper anti-money laundering checks while acting for a politically exposed person has been fined £25,000.
Law Society research highlights its TA6 failures
The extent of the Law Society’s misjudgement in last year’s launch of the updated TA6 property information form has been laid out by research it commissioned.
Conveyancers warned over amending contracts ahead of SDLT deadline
Conveyancers have been warned over efforts to amend agreed conditions of sale to take into account the possibility of not completing before SDLT changes.
Court allows City giant to progress ex-client’s claim on assignment
A major City law firm can continue bringing a case it took on assignment from former clients which could mitigate a possible professional negligence claim.
AI will allow conveyancers “to resume role of trusted advisors”
Artificial intelligence will not mark the end of the traditional conveyancer and will instead put them back into their old trusted advisor role, a roundtable has heard.
High-profile conveyancer “transferring shares” post-disqualification
Lloyd Davies, the high-profile licensed conveyancer who has been permanently disqualified, is now in the process of transferring his shares in his firm, it has confirmed.
High-profile conveyancer disqualified for misleading 300 students
A high-profile licensed conveyancer has been thrown out of the profession for not telling 300 apprentices and students that his training academy had lost its official accreditation.