Defending Solicitors' Rights To Practise
The Legal Services Consumer Panel is concerned that clients have limited means of knowing whether a solicitor is competent and has ensured his or her skills have been updated throughout what can be a long … Read More
Under the SRA Standards and Regulations, within the Code of Conduct for Solicitors, RELs and RFLs, all staff employed within a law firm are subject to those conduct rules. Paralegals can find themselves answering accusations … Read More
On 29 April 2020, the Court of Appeal, in R v Barton & Booth [2020] EWCA Crim 575 provided an important decision on the test for dishonesty in a criminal context. For solicitors facing an … Read More
Fortunately, not all Solicitors Regulation Authority investigations result in formal prosecution and an appearance in the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). Depending on the circumstances, it may be possible to negotiate a Regulatory Settlement Agreement with … Read More
On 25th November 2019, the new Solicitors (Disciplinary Proceedings) Rules 2019 (SDPR 2019) came into force. From the outset, it is important to note that for any matters certified as demonstrating a case to answer … Read More
Standards matter; of this there is little dispute, but when it comes to the development and management of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure, standards are vital to safety, economic sustainability, and health. As a … Read More
As of 2019, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) has over 181,000 members , including students, across 148 countries. And this number is climbing at a higher rate than ever, with … Read More
In the UK, the Architects Act 1997 (AA 1997) provides for the regulation of the architects’ profession, with the Architects Registration Board (ARB) being responsible for its oversight. The ARB exists to: manage the UK … Read More
Law firms across the globe are becoming victims of ever-more sophisticated cybercrimes. In May 2019, two American law firms lost over £92,300 ($117,000), following a malware attack by an overseas cybercrime network. And in the … Read More
The safe and secure management of client files is a vital consideration for those in the legal sector. In the same manner as a medical professional, solicitor case files contain deeply sensitive, highly confidential personal, … Read More
The legal profession is not for everyone; as with any occupation, there are particular characteristics which contribute to a successful career in law, and top grades at law school is not necessarily one of them. … 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 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
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
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
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
In October 2017, leading international firm, Appleby, admitted that in 2016 it had been the victim of a cyber-security breach which led to the Paradise Papers scandal. The firm, which advises corporations, high-net-worth individuals and … Read More
In October’s Law Society Gazette, it was reported that City firm, Bates Wells Braithwaite, fell victim of an attempted cyber-fraud in which photographs and details of several of its lawyers were stolen and displayed on … Read More