Solicitors

Candidates for the qualifying work experience component of the new solicitor’s qualification process will not have to gain it in an English law jurisdiction, it has emerged.

A solicitor who acted in a conflict of interest when advising a then bishop over allegations of sexual misconduct was “partly” to blame for the Church of England not taking stronger action against him.

The Law Society and Legal Services Consumer Panel have joined forces to oppose the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s plan to close the Solicitors Indemnity Fund.

Big City law firms should take into account in their balance sheet the cost of losing good people ‘by the back door’ by focusing so heavily on earnings ‘through the front door’ such as billable hours.

A solicitor who lost an unencrypted USB stick full of client information that was subsequently found by a member of the public has been rebuked by the SRA.

A family law practice started by two solicitors has divorced the Bar Standards Board as its regulator and taken up with the Solicitors Regulation Authority after difficulties beset the relationship.

A solicitor who falsified returns to HM Revenue & Customs so as to underpay stamp duty land tax and pocket the difference has been jailed for more than three years.

The alternative business structure owned by global insurance services firm Crawford & Company has been fined for failing to confirm that it had a compliant anti-money laundering risk assessment.

The Solicitors Qualifying Exam will make it easier for people to qualify as solicitors but move the “bottleneck” to newly qualified roles, a leading academic and the training head of a major law firm have predicted.

A solicitor who received a suspended jail sentence after being convicted of making indecent images of children and producing cannabis has been struck off.

A young solicitor jailed for grievous bodily harm has escaped being struck off because of his genuine remorse and low likelihood of reoffending.

Lawyers should have to take online tests every 10 years to prove that they remain competent in their specialist fields, the chair of the Legal Services Consumer Panel said yesterday.

A partner who defrauded his firm of £2.3m over seven years – some of which was done with the help of a client – has been jailed for four years and also struck off as a solicitor.

A solicitor who failed to report that a fee-earner he employed had been convicted of an immigration offence has been rebuked by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

A freelance solicitor has teamed up with a former KPMG partner to launch a divorce business that guarantees its fixed-fee quote for the whole process, including ancillary relief.