‘There should be a “fundamental alteration” in the way the legal sector approaches consumer vulnerability, taking an opt-out, rather than opt-in, approach, a study for the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has argued.’
Legal Futures, 20th February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has castigated the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for prosecuting a law firm and two partners based on “accusation without evidence”.’
Legal Futures, 18th February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In this article, Melody Hadfield sets out five key principles which determine the ambit of solicitors’ duties and provides insight into how those principles interrelate. Melody has significant experience of solicitors’ negligence claims in a wide range of contexts (including claims concerning conveyancing and other property transactions, corporate restructuring, investments and claims arising from the alleged misconduct of litigation).’
4 New Square, 30th January 2025
Source: www.4newsquare.com
‘Damages-based agreements (DBAs) used by a law firm in a probate dispute concerning a multi-million pound estate are unenforceable because they do not comply with DBA rules, the High Court ruled last week.’
Law Society's Gazette, 7th February 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘Scrapping government funding for Level 7 apprenticeships would be “a disaster for the legal profession and have a highly negative impact on social mobility and diversity”, the government has been told.’
Legal Futures, 6th February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The High Court has rejected a solicitor and his client’s bid to challenge the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office’s (JCIO) refusal to entertain their complaints about three Court of Appeal judges.’
Legal Futures, 4th February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The director of a law firm and the firm itself have each been fined £25,000 for a series of compliance failures, including widespread accounts rule breaches and anti-money laundering (AML) shortcomings.’
Legal Futures, 3rd February 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘A significant appeal that should decide whether a breach of the Money Laundering Regulations is also a breach of the SRA code of conduct starts in the High Court today.’
Legal Futures, 29th January 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘The Legal Services Board (LSB) has approved plans by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) to change its publication policy and keep details of misconduct on its website for longer.’
Legal Futures, 28th January 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘In Menzies v Oakwood Solicitors [2024] UKSC 34, the Supreme Court considered the meaning of payment for the purposes of section 70(4) of the Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974).’
Gatehouse Chambers, 20th December 2024
Source: gatehouselaw.co.uk
‘This paper explores the contemporary elective module provision in undergraduate English law degrees. The demise of the qualifying law degree as a requirement to pursue qualification as a solicitor in England and Wales means that providers of undergraduate English law degrees now have increasing flexibility over the structure and content of courses. This paper reviews elective modules offered at providers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland in the academic year 2023–2024 and finds that while there is increasing diversity among elective provision when compared to historic provision, there is also a degree of standardisation among degree providers. It discusses the significance of this standardisation in the post-qualifying law degree world and develops seven themes based on current elective provision to highlight the broader trends in elective provision. It then concludes by arguing that the legacy of the qualifying law degree is clearly influencing the new normal and suggests several questions which this raises for undergraduate legal education going forward.’
The Law Teacher, 22nd January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘This paper argues that solicitors are required to lawyer relationally when delivering independent legal advice (ILA) to (predominantly) women set to provide suretyship for their intimate partner’s debts. Case law tells us that women providing suretyship may be entering the transaction under the coercion of their partner. Coerced debt is a form of economic abuse, which in turn is a form of domestic abuse. ILA in this context therefore provides an important intervention to potentially assist victims of abuse before entering (potentially more) debt at the hands of their abuser. To make ILA purposeful, solicitors must prioritise relational values/dynamics such as consultation, care, judgement, and empowerment; the anti-thesis of market-exchange lawyering which is characterised by the values such as objectivity and detachment. Market-exchange lawyering is also associated with ethical apathy as lawyers prioritise their client’s means-ends above all else, therefore failing to consider the broader implications of those ends (in terms of their client’s best interests and/or the public interest). Drawing on interview data with 22 solicitors, it is demonstrated that most interviewees provide tick-box ILA prioritising completion. That is, most interviewees prioritised values of commerce over values of care when acting for women who may be experiencing economic abuse.’
Legal Ethics, 15th January 2025
Source: www.tandfonline.com
‘The Serious Fraud Office has been granted its first unexplained wealth order to recover a £1.5m Lake District property owned by the ex-wife of convicted solicitor Timothy Schools.’
Law Society's Gazette , 20th January 2025
Source: www.lawgazette.co.uk
‘The High Court yesterday handed down judgment in JMW Solicitors LLP & Others v Injury Lawyers 4U & Others [2024] EWHC 3103 (Ch), a reverse summary judgment application on a shareholder dispute.’
Littleton Chambers, 5th December 2024
Source: littletonchambers.com
‘The number of solicitors with civil higher rights of audience is poised to overtake criminal for the first time, Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) figures have shown.’
Legal Futures, 9th January 2025
Source: www.legalfutures.co.uk
‘Professional Liability and Coverage Update: what happened in 2024 and what’s in store in 2025?’
4 New Square, 6th January 2025
Source: www.4newsquare.com
© Inner Temple Library 2025