Defending Solicitors' Rights To Practise
Jon Goodwin In October 2018, the High Court ordered a retrial after the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found Francisco Rodriguez-Purcet, the former head of marketing and business development at a now-defunct law firm (Tandem Law), guilty of … Read More
The UK legal market has always been a bastion of robust regulation and oversight, but things are about to change drastically. Earlier in 2018, the SRA submitted plans to the Legal Services Board (LSB) aimed … Read More
The anticipated case of Solicitors Regulation Authority v James & Ors was decided last week, ending the careers of three solicitors, and causing severe division within the profession. The case originated out of an SRA … Read More
From December 2018, all regulated law firms will need to publish certain information regarding pricing and services. The requirement falls under the SRA’s new Transparency Rules. Regulated legal practices will need to publish the … Read More
Gempride Ltd v Bamrah & Anor [2018] EWCA Civ 1367 In June 2018, the Court of Appeal issued what has been called a “watershed” decision in relation to misconduct in Detailed Assessment proceedings. The Court … Read More
In early September 2018, the SRA warned fraudsters are targeting unsuspecting law firms with new types of work in an effort to defraud them out of client money. The Law Society Gazette reported the SRA … Read More
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has issued a new warning notice regarding false holiday sickness claims. As summer comes to an end and holiday-makers return home, it is imperative Solicitors are vigilant when it comes … Read More
In June 2018, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) announced a series of reforms. These are designed to give legal professionals greater flexibility and improve access to justice. The reforms have been generated from the Looking … Read More
The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) criticised the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) over its handling of an investigation and subsequent prosecution of an “honest and credible” partner, Mr Vincent Gray, of the Greater Manchester practice, Dunne … Read More
Earlier this year, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed it had implemented disciplinary measures against several law firms who had allegedly committed money laundering breaches. The authority stated it had carried out a review of … Read More
In June 2018, the Solicitors Regulation Authority published phase two of its Handbook reforms and a draft of the revised Handbook itself. The existing SRA Handbook is seen as complex and not particularly user-friendly – … Read More
An SRA intervention is the SRA’s nuclear weapon. If your firm is currently being investigated and you fear an intervention may be possible, you must take the situation seriously. An SRA intervention can destroy not … Read More
A recent article in the Law Society Gazette has stated the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has confirmed that it will ask this year whether the bar for finding solicitors guilty of misconduct should be lowered … Read More
Late last month, UK law firm Duncan Lewis alerted regulatory bodies and the National Crime Agency Action Fraud team that a data breach occurred in their firm. According to a report in the Law Society … Read More
Do many law graduates understand the true nature of working in a law firm? I know that when I was in the midst of my law exams, the pressure seemed unbearable at times. But nothing … Read More
In 2015, former Law Society council member Michael Webster was jailed for eight months after being found guilty of making five fraudulent transactions from his law firm’s client account to the value of £75,605.27. Mr … Read More
The level of honesty and integrity demanded by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is incredibly high. And the penalty for acting dishonestly or with a lack of integrity can end an otherwise promising legal career. … Read More
Thanks to efforts by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Ruby Wax, and Elon Musk , mental health, for long the poor relation of health services in Britain, is now being taken seriously. … Read More
In one telling scene from the opening episode of the BBC’s McMafia, Alex Godman, played by James McNorton, is asked how he might send funds to Mumbai “without leaving a trace”. His answer: by setting … Read More
The General Data Protection Rules (GDPR) come into force in less than four months. According to the latest statistics available, only 25% of over 150 legal sector IT decision-makers said their firms were GDPR ready … Read More