John Bercow will not be investigated over ‘stupid woman’ row – The Guardian

‘John Bercow, the Speaker of the House of Commons, will not be investigated by the standards watchdog over allegations that he described the cabinet minister Andrea Leadsom as a “stupid woman”.’

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The Guardian, 4th June 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

John Bercow: Probe into Commons Speaker bullying claims blocked – The Independent

‘A probe into allegations John Bercow bullied members of staff has been blocked by MPs. The Commons Standards Committee voted three-two against allowing Parliament’s watchdog to investigate the claims.’

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The Independent, 17th May 2018

Source: www.independent.co.uk

Senior partner who bungled hearing loss claims and lied to the court is struck off – Litigation Futures

‘The senior partner of a personal injury firm who bungled 37 noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) claims and lied to the court has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).’

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Litigation Futures, 25th April 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

SDT criticises solicitor for “misleading” evidence on husband’s £80,000 investment in firm – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has strongly criticised a solicitor who gave “misleading” evidence on her husband’s £80,000 investment in a personal injury firm, which it said encouraged her to pay banned referral fees.’

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Legal Futures, 26th April 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Ethics expert calls on SRA to take tougher approach to NDAs – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) needs to take a tougher approach to non-disclosure agreements (NDAs), a leading legal ethics expert has told MPs.’

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Legal Futures, 19th April 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

High Court rejects disbarred barrister’s appeal against refusal to readmit him to Gray’s Inn – Legal Futures

‘A disbarred barrister whose bid to rejoin Gray’s Inn and starting practising again after 15 years was refused has lost an appeal to the High Court.’

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Legal Futures, 12th April 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Speech by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court: Integrity and independence in the judiciary and the financial services industry – a comparative study – Courts & Tribunals Judiciary

‘Speech by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court: Integrity and independence in the judiciary and the financial services industry – a comparative study.’

Full speech

Courts & Tribunals Judiciary, 21st March 2018

Source: www.judiciary.gov.uk

Solicitor struck off after ‘heinous’ attempt to cover up litigation error – Litigation Futures

‘A solicitor whose corporate client had a summary judgment entered against them because he failed to attend a court hearing, has been struck off after making a false statement denying he knew about it in advance.’

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Litigation Futures, 19th March 2018

Source: www.litigationfutures.com

BSB seeks views on modernising its regulatory decision-making – Bar Standards Board

Posted March 9th, 2018 in barristers, consultations, press releases, professional conduct by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today launched a new consultation seeking views on the final phase of the Governance Reform outlined in its 2016-19 Strategic Plan. The BSB now proposes to change how it deals with the information it receives as the regulator and to revise its decision-making structures in relation to professional conduct issues.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Board, 8th March 2018

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Integrity is ‘more than mere honesty’ CoA tells solicitors – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Dishonesty and lack of integrity cannot be treated as synonymous for the purposes of assessing a solicitor’s conduct, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 8th March 2018

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Barrister who lied about LLM and death penalty experience to gain pupillage disbarred – Legal Futures

‘A barrister has been disbarred for lying about her qualifications and experience, including a claim that she had saved 10 men from the death penalty in Malawi.’

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Legal Futures, 1st March 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judges told to limit observers if witness has to remove veil – The Guardian

‘Judges should restrict the number of observers allowed into court when defendants or witnesses are compelled to remove their veil to give evidence, new guidance to judges recommends.’

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The Guardian, 28th February 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com

Shiner given extended bankruptcy order after trying to give away £500,000 – Legal Futures

Posted February 27th, 2018 in bankruptcy, disqualification, gifts, law firms, news, professional conduct, solicitors by tracey

‘Struck-off solicitor Phil Shiner has had his bankruptcy extended by five years after he gifted away nearly £500,000 worth of assets to family members before declaring himself bankrupt and was unable to pay £6.5m back to his creditors.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 26th February 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

When to adjourn a misconduct hearing – UK Police Law Blog

Posted February 12th, 2018 in adjournment, disciplinary procedures, news, police, professional conduct, regulations by tracey

‘When must a police misconduct hearing adjourn the proceedings for the attendance of the respondent officer or even a witness?’

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UK Police Law Blog, 9th February 2018

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

BSB publishes new version of its Handbook – Bar Standards Handbook

Posted February 1st, 2018 in barristers, codes of practice, press releases, professional conduct by tracey

‘The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has today published the latest version of the BSB Handbook which contains the Code of Conduct for barristers in England and Wales. This introduces new authorisation to practise requirements, streamlines the public and licensed access rules, and introduces new obligations for barristers and BSB regulated entities to comply with the new Anti-Money Laundering Regulations. The new rules mean that there are four new reporting requirements for barristers looking to apply for or renew their practising certificates.’

Full press release

Bar Standards Handbook, 1st February 2018

Source: www.barstandardsboard.org.uk

Watchdog fines former Quindell auditor £1m for misconduct – Daily Telegraph

Posted January 24th, 2018 in auditors, fines, news, professional conduct by tracey

‘A former auditor of scandal-hit insurance software firm Quindell has been fined £1m and reprimanded by the accounting watchdog for “misconduct” in its handling of the company’s finances. The Financial Reporting Council said Arrandco Audit, formerly known as RSM Tenon, failed to “exercise sufficient professional scepticism” and to ensure the company’s financial statements in the year to January 2011 were free from inaccuracies. One of its partners, Jeremy Filley, was also slapped with an £80,000 fine.’

Full Story

Daily Telegraph, 23rd January 2018

Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Lords vote for second Leveson probe into press conduct – BBC News

‘Peers have backed a proposal that would require Theresa May to proceed with the second stage of the Leveson inquiry.’

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BBC News, 10th January 2018

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

SDT issues mental health warning to employers in case of solicitor under billing pressure – Legal Futures

Posted January 10th, 2018 in forgery, mental health, news, professional conduct, solicitors, tribunals by sally

‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has decided against striking off a solicitor it found had forged correspondence and lied to both her client and her employer, after finding that a root cause of her misconduct was the firm’s culture and the pressure it exerted on her to meet billing targets.’

Full Story

Legal Futures, 10th January 2018

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Independent Office for Police Conduct – UK Police Law Blog

Posted January 9th, 2018 in complaints, news, police, professional conduct by sally

‘The IOPC today replaces the Independent Police Complaints Commission Commission.’

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UK Police Law Blog, 8th January 2018

Source: ukpolicelawblog.com

Watching porn at work – what are the legal consequences? – The Guardian

‘In a four month period in 2017, there were 24,000 attempts to access pornographic websites in the Houses of Parliament. Westminster may be a special case, but should it be a sackable offence in regular offices?’

Full Story

The Guardian, 8th January 2018

Source: www.theguardian.com