News
Latest on risk management, professional indemnity and compliance issues.
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March 26, 2024
Letter from the Justice Committee to the Lord Chancellor on The regulation of the legal professions
See here.
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March 08, 2024
SRA draft guidance for in-house solicitors
See here.
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March 06, 2024
The Principal Office Address (Rectification of Register) Regulations 2024
These Regulations make provision about the registrar’s powers to change the address registered as the principal office of company directors, secretaries and persons with significant control (“relevant persons”), where the registrar is not satisfied that the address is in fact their principal office. The Regulations allow the registrar to act on the registrar’s own motion or on application.
See here.
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January 19, 2024
Companies House: Changes to UK company law
Website containing useful resources on the changes.
See here.
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December 05, 2023
Boodia & Anor v Slade (t/a Richard Slade And Company) [2023] EWHC 2963 (KB)
There was no requirement for a solicitor to obtain informed consent to a retainer which provided for rendering of interim statute bills. Permission to appeal was granted on whether the consequent restriction on the client’s ability to challenge such a bill contravened the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regulations 1999 (“the UTCC regs”) and the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008, the allegation being that the solicitors ought to have spelt out the consequences in respect of the loss or reduction of rights to obtain a statutory assessment of the bills under s.70 of the Solicitors Act 1974.
See here.
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November 27, 2023
The Law Society – The challenges regulating in-house lawyers
Article by Frank Maher outlining the regulatory challenges for in-house lawyers and highlighting some of the risks.
See here.
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October 31, 2023
Law Society Gazette – Axiom Ince – what needs to happen now
First published in the Law Society Gazette, 27 October 2023.
See here.
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July 31, 2023
SRA Risk Outlook: managing regulatory risk during economic uncertainty
See here.
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June 30, 2022
The Solicitors Act 1974 and Administration of Justice Act 1985 (Amendment) Order 2022
This Order increases the maximum penalty that the Law Society (through the SRA) may direct a person to pay from £2,000 to £25,000.
See here.
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May 25, 2022
Competition and Markets Authority (Respondent) v Flynn Pharma Ltd and another (Appellants) Competition and Markets Authority (Respondent) v Pfizer Inc and another (Appellants) [2022] UKSC 14
In the Supreme Court’s judgment, there is no generally applicable principle that all public bodies should enjoy a protected costs position when they lose a case. However, the judgment does not cast any doubt on the position of the SRA in relation to costs following the decision in Baxendale-Walker v Law Society [2007] EWCA Civ 233.
See here.
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January 11, 2022
Blockchain: legal and regulatory guidance (second edition)
The Law Society has published a new edition of its guidance, see here.
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September 13, 2021
Law Society Practice Note: Residual client balances. This has been substantially updated. (Password required)
See here.
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September 10, 2021
Law Society Practice Note – Client information requirements. (Password required)
See here.
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September 09, 2021
American Bar Association Formal Opinion 499 September 8, 2021, Passive Investment in Alternative Business Structures
See here.
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September 01, 2021
Law Society Practice Note: Providing services and taking on roles outside your practice as a solicitor
Law Society Practice Note addresses the regulatory and insurance considerations in a number of common situations – school governors, trustee of a charity, non-executive directorships and giving legal advice to friends or family members. (Password required)
See here.
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August 04, 2021
SRA updated guidance on Transparency in price and service
See here.
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July 23, 2021
Harcus Sinclair LLP and another v Your Lawyers Ltd [2021] UKSC 32
This is an important Supreme Court decision on solicitors’ undertakings with significant implications for the profession. A non-compete undertaking given on behalf of a firm was not given in their ‘capacity as a solicitor’ as it was not part of their ordinary professional practice but instead related to a potential business opportunity.
The most significant part of the judgment is obiter but the Supreme Court held that the non-compete clause would not have been enforceable against the firm as a solicitor’s undertaking because the firm, as an LLP, is not an officer of the court. It would also not have been enforceable against the member who gave it as he gave it on behalf of the firm. This may have significant implications for daily practice particularly conveyancing.
As the Supreme Court identified, ‘[there] can be no doubt that the underpinning of those undertakings by the availability of rapid summary enforcement under the court’s supervisory jurisdiction has been a significant buttress for their reliability, and for the propriety of accepting them as part of the every-day machinery for modern conveyancing. This is not because there is a history of frequent non-compliance followed by court enforcement. Rather, the mere existence of that ready and swift means of enforcement made it inherently unlikely that a solicitor would fail to comply.’
Two thirds of solicitors’ practices are incorporated as LLPs or limited companies.
See here.
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July 14, 2021
Law Society Practice Note: Solicitors offering legal services to the public from unregulated entities
See here.
(Law Society members only)
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July 08, 2021
Stuart Malcolm Forsyth v (1) The Financial Conduct Authority and (2) The Prudential Regulation Authority [2021] UKUT 162 (TCC)
Successful appeal against finding of lack of integrity. Wingate & Anor v The Solicitors Regulation Authority [2018] EWCA Civ 366 applied.
See here.
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February 10, 2021
SRA Regulatory Arrangements (EU Exit) (Post Implementation Period) Regulations 2020 – Brexit-related changes to the SRA Standards and Regulations
See here.