“Shamelessness” of SLAPPs has grown “but still no disciplinary action” – Legal Futures

‘The number and “shamelessness” of SLAPPs has grown but there has been no disciplinary action taken against the lawyers responsible for how they are run, a major conference was told yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 28th November 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Leading firm fined £101,000 for anti-money laundering failures – Legal Futures

Posted November 27th, 2023 in fines, law firms, money laundering, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by tracey

‘A leading South-West law firm has been fined £101,357 for failing to act over money laundering red flags on three property transactions, two of which may have involved a sanctioned entity.’

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Legal Futures, 27th November 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitors Regulation Authority wins appeal against Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal costs order – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A judge has overruled the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal’s decision to slash the Solicitors Regulation Authority’s costs claim in a strike-off case. The regulator had sought £22,800 in the case last January but the tribunal awarded only £5,000.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 27th November 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Consolidation of legal regulators “may be a good thing” – Legal Futures

‘Consolidation of legal regulators “may be a good thing” if designed to achieve “the pulling together of knowledge, lessons, consumer research and engagement”, the Legal Services Consumer Panel has said.’

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Legal Futures, 22nd November 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SRA issues report on opportunities and risks of AI – Local Government Lawyer

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority has set out its views on the opportunities – and risks – presented by artificial intelligence (AI).’

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Local Government Lawyer, 21st November 2023

Source: www.localgovernmentlawyer.co.uk

SRA appeals ‘astonishing’ £5,000 tribunal costs order – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal costs order of £5,000 was appealed today in the first such challenge by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Describing the order as ‘astonishing’, the SRA said the correct figure should have been £18,500.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 9th November 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

SRA fines law firm £45,000 for how it ran financial mis-selling claims – Legal Futures

Posted October 2nd, 2023 in banking, complaints, fines, law firms, news, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has slapped a law firm with a £45,000 fine for multiple failures in its conduct of financial mis-selling claims.’

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Legal Futures, 2nd October 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law Society and SRA win approval for 11.5% jump in cost of practising – Legal Futures

Posted September 7th, 2023 in budgets, fees, law firms, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by sally

‘Individual solicitors and their firms will be paying an extra £13.2m to be regulated and represented in the coming year, the Legal Services Board (LSB) has confirmed.’

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Legal Futures, 7th September 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SRA told to pay solicitor £75k in costs for failed prosecution – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been slapped with a £75,000 costs order after making an “essential mistake of law” in a failed prosecution of a solicitor.’

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Legal Futures, 31st August 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Watchdog shuts three solicitors firms accused in asylum sting – The Guardian

‘Three law firms in England accused of wrongdoing in dealing with asylum applications have been shut down by the solicitors’ watchdog.’

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The Guardian, 31st July 2023

Source: www.theguardian.com

Misconduct: ‘No simple explanation’ for race bias in complaints – Law Society’s Gazette

‘”Socio-cognitive biases” could account for the over-representation of Black, Asian and minority ethnic solicitors in complaints about potential misconduct raised with the Solicitors Regulation Authority.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd June 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Unregulated legal services firms “want more regulation” – Legal Futures

‘Most unregulated legal services firms support “some aspects of regulation” for their areas but there is not a clear case for major reform, a report for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has concluded.’

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Legal Futures, 14th June 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Workplace bullying in law firms – a new frontier? – Kingsley Napley

‘Richard Fox, Jessica Clay and Lucinda Soon discuss what constitutes workplace bullying in light of the recent high-profile case against former justice secretary Dominic Raab.’

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Kingsley Napley, 19th May 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

SRA to publish salaries of fined solicitors – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is to publish the salaries of the solicitors it fines and impose ‘default salaries’ on those who refuse to reveal them.’

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Legal Futures, 1st June 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bogus solicitor jailed for posing as lawyer in court case – BBC News

‘A “comprehensively dishonest” man who posed as a solicitor in court despite having no legal qualifications has been jailed for 10 months.’

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BBC News, 25th May 2023

Source: www.bbc.co.uk

Law firms and preventing sexual harassment in the workplace – Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog

‘Sexual harassment in the workplace has attracted growing concern globally over the past five years. The House of Commons Women and Equalities Select Committee (WESC) inquiry in July 2018 triggered a parliamentary debate around the need for stricter duties for employers to prevent unwanted sexual behaviour at work. In parallel, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has prioritised tackling sexual misconduct in law firms and recent changes to its Codes of Conduct emphasise the expectation on firms to foster a culture of zero tolerance to counter-inclusive behaviours, including sexual misconduct.’

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Kingsley Napley Employment Law Blog, 23rd May 2023

Source: www.kingsleynapley.co.uk

Law Society: Climate change a “valid” reason to reject clients – Legal Futures

‘Climate-related issues may be “valid considerations” for law firms in deciding whether to act for potential clients, the Law Society has said.’

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Legal Futures, 19th April 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

New ‘failure to prevent’ offence tabled – Law Society’s Gazette

‘A new offence of failure to prevent fraud will be created by an amendment to the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Bill tabled by the government today. Under the measure, an organisation where a fraud has been committed must be able to demonstrate that it had ‘reasonable measures in place to deter the offending’ or be liable to an unlimited fine.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th April 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

SLAPPs – defamation, privacy, public participation and reform – Mills & Reeve

‘SLAPPs – what are they? If you’ve asked yourself that question, it’s most likely a good thing. In this article we take a look at the impact of Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), which present an important issue within society, politics and the legal profession, particularly in a libel and privacy context.’

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Mills & Reeve, 14th March 2023

Source: www.mills-reeve.com

SRA wins approval to destroy 765,000 files from shut-down firms – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has given the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) permission to destroy immediately around 765,000 files it is storing after intervening in law firms in recent years.’

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Legal Futures, 3rd March 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk