Beneficiary allowed to challenge firm’s fees after fourfold rise – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted February 13th, 2023 in costs, fees, law firms, news, solicitors, wills by tracey

‘The High Court has allowed a will beneficiary to challenge a costs bill which rose significantly from its original estimate.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 10th February 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

CoA shows mercy over judgment embargo breach – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 31st, 2023 in contempt of court, electronic mail, judgments, news, solicitors by tracey

‘Three Court of Appeal judges have shown mercy towards an in-house lawyer in the US who has admitted emailing the outcome of a London judgment to his US legal team in breach of an embargo.’

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Law Society’s Gazette, 30th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

New ‘failure to prevent’ offence could hit lawyers – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted January 27th, 2023 in bills, crime prevention, disciplinary procedures, fines, fraud, news, solicitors by sally

‘The government is preparing to bring in new laws to create an offence of ‘failure to prevent fraud’ that could put solicitors at risk of facing prosecution.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 26th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Number of SRA investigations into SLAPPs continues to rise – Legal Futures

‘The number of law firms being investigated for possible misconduct relating to strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) has doubled since the summer to 40, the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) revealed yesterday.’

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Legal Futures, 25th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court rejects contempt bid over solicitor’s witness statement error – Legal Futures

Posted January 23rd, 2023 in contempt of court, news, solicitors, wills, witnesses by tracey

‘The High Court has rejected an application to begin contempt proceedings against a solicitor over what it said was a simple error in a witness statement.’

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Legal Futures, 23rd January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Regulators plan new work on lawyers’ misuse of NDAs – Law Society’s Gazette

‘Regulators will seek to draw up new rules on dealing with lawyers who use non-disclosure agreements to cover up clients’ sexual misconduct and harassment, it has emerged.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 23rd January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Firm handed largest-ever fine for transparency rules non-compliance – Legal Futures

Posted January 20th, 2023 in fines, law firms, news, solicitors, Solicitors Regulation Authority by tracey

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fined a law firm that did not comply with its transparency rules £3,500, the highest penalty it has issued for the offence.’

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Legal Futures, 20th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

LawtechUK: Regulatory risks of AI “inhibiting law firm adoption” – Legal Futures

‘Hesitation about adopting artificial intelligence (AI) by law firms nervous of the risks presented by a regulatory grey area is causing a bottleneck that needs to be cleared, according to LawtechUK.’

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Legal Futures, 18th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Law firm fined record £20,000 for “reckless” AML breaches – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has fined an Oxfordshire law firm £20,000 after finding it “reckless” in failing to comply with the anti-money laundering (AML) requirements.’

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Legal Futures, 18th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Bank’s solicitor “may have owed duty of care” to third party – Legal Futures

Posted January 16th, 2023 in appeals, banking, conveyancing, duty of care, land registration, news, solicitors by tracey

‘A bank’s solicitor may owe a duty of care to the seller of the property when filling in Land Registry paperwork to change the register, the Court of Appeal has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 16th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SRA sanctioned for wrongly publishing trainee’s ban – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been sanctioned in costs after prematurely stating on its website that it had banned a former trainee solicitor from working for law firms.’

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Legal Futures, 16th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Raab faces judicial review over criminal legal aid fees – Law Society’s Gazette

‘The Law Society has issued an ultimatum to lord chancellor Dominic Raab over criminal legal aid fees: increase them by the minimum amount recommended by the government-commissioned Bellamy review or face a judicial review.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 11th January 2023

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk

Solicitor can sue ex-firm for misuse of private WhatsApp messages – Legal Futures

‘A High Court master has rejected what he described as a law firm owner’s attempt to “stifle” a misuse of private information (MPI) claim by a junior solicitor he dismissed by applying to have her case struck out.’

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Legal Futures, 11th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Legal regulators “need to work on building trust” with their communities – Legal Futures

Posted January 10th, 2023 in conveyancing, disciplinary procedures, news, solicitors by sally

‘Legal regulators can reduce the amount of enforcement work they need to undertake if they can build enough trust that lawyers will approach them before things go wrong, an event has heard.’

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Legal Futures, 10th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Can the tables ever be turned: when can professionals sue their clients for breaching duties to them? by Helen Evans KC – 4 New Square Chambers

‘When professionals are sued, it’s not unusual for them to make an assertion that their clients were “up to something”, or to complain that they had provided wilfully misleading or incomplete instructions.’

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4 New Square Chambers, 7th December 2022

Source: www.4newsquare.com

SRA can enforce costs order against solicitor struck off in 2010 – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) can enforce a £15,000 costs order against a struck-off solicitor more than 12 years after it was made, the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has ruled.’

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Legal Futures, 6th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Solicitor fails to persuade judge to reconsider unfair dismissal ruling – Legal Futures

Posted January 5th, 2023 in disciplinary procedures, news, solicitors, unfair dismissal by sally

‘An assistant solicitor who won his unfair dismissal claim solely on the basis of the procedure followed has failed to persuade the judge to reconsider his decision.’

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Legal Futures, 5th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Judge warns solicitors over witness statement compliance certificates – Legal Futures

‘The High Court has issued a stark warning to solicitors who sign a certificate of compliance on non-compliant witness statements so their clients can have their day in court.’

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Legal Futures, 4th January 2023

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

SRA to step up action over non-compliance with transparency rules – Legal Futures

‘The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is to take a “more robust approach” to enforcing its transparency rules after its latest work indicated widespread non-compliance.’

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Legal Futures, 20th December 2022

Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk

Court allows costs challenge by client ‘not informed’ about options – Law Society’s Gazette

Posted December 19th, 2022 in costs, damages, news, personal injuries, solicitors, time limits by tracey

‘The High Court has ruled that a costs bill can be challenged after the one-year time limit for requesting detailed assessment. In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors, Mr Justice Bourne said Leeds firm Oakwood Solicitors had not made clear to a former client the procedure for objecting to the deduction of costs from his damages. Payment was therefore not effected by a settlement of account and a challenge could still be made.’

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Law Society's Gazette, 16th December 2022

Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk