Legal Services

An immigration lawyer who “wrongly claimed” £800,000 from the Legal Aid Agency (LAA) has been struck off by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/immigration-lawyer-wrongly-claimed-800000-in-legal-aid

Robing rooms may be a private sanctuary for barristers but they cannot be viewed as a “no-go area” for their regulator, the High Court has ruled.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/robing-room-is-not-a-no-go-area-for-barristers-regulator

A new rule putting the parties under an explicit obligation to disclose to the other side communications with the court could disadvantage litigants in person (LiPs), the Bar Council has warned.

https://www.litigationfutures.com/news/bar-council-new-open-justice-rule-could-disadvantage-litigants-in-person

A barrister who failed to give “unwelcome advice” to an “over-enthusiastic client” about a private criminal prosecution has been suspended for a month by a Bar disciplinary tribunal.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/barrister-who-failed-to-give-unwelcome-advice-suspended

Solicitors convicted separately of head-butting another parent at a children’s rugby match and making fraudulent expenses claims to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) have both been struck off.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/solicitors-convicted-of-gbh-and-expenses-fraud-struck-off

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) was told yesterday that it will be held to account over how it deals with poor-quality criminal advocacy.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/bsb-will-be-held-to-account-over-poor-criminal-advocacy

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has updated a warning notice issued less than a year ago to reflect the new issues that have arisen since then as the crackdown on misconduct over sickness claims continues.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/sra-outlines-new-concerns-around-holiday-sickness-claims

In its response to the government’s review of LASPO, the LSB said consumers whose finances were “stretched” but not enough for them to qualify for legal aid were the least likely to use a lawyer.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/lsb-treads-carefully-as-it-warns-over-legal-aid-cuts

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is looking to clarify the threshold used by law firms when deciding whether to report concerns over misconduct.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/sra-seeks-to-clarify-threshold-for-reporting-misconduct

A solicitor who was convicted of fraudulently submitting false invoices for police station work to fund his cocaine habit has been struck off.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/solicitor-falsely-billed-law-firms-to-feed-cocaine-habit