Legal Services

Covid has flattened the number of new practising barristers and hit pupillages hard, but there was a sharp rise in the proportion of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds, new figures have shown.

A solicitor who ‘witnessed’ the signatures of a client’s father that were already on property documents, without checking their authenticity, has been fined £20,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT).

The High Court has highlighted the “implausibility of not one, but two or more, persons from a well-known firm of solicitors being involved in a fraudulent scheme” in dismissing a claim against Simmons & Simmons.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/high-court-highlights-implausibility-of-multi-hand-fraud-at-city-law-firm

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) was wrong to throw out a private prosecution brought by a former client against the current president of the Law Society, the High Court has ruled.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/sdt-wrong-to-strike-out-prosecution-of-law-society-president

The average number of legal jobs posted every month in 2020 was 60% down on the previous year, while applications increased by 53% for each one, a recruitment website has reported.

A Norwich Pharmacal Order (NPO) is a disclosure order available in England and Wales which allows information to be obtained from third parties who have become 'mixed up' in wrongdoing, helping victims to investigate, pursue those ultimately responsible and recover their losses.

A solicitor who lied when she told her new employer that she was not under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been struck off.

A leading conveyancer has expressed his shock after a fraudster was able to transfer money from his firm’s client account at one of his bank’s branches, despite having put safeguards in place following a similar incident a year earlier.

The High Court has overturned the decision that former Freshfields partner Ryan Beckwith breached the SRA code of conduct by having drunken sex with a junior lawyer at the firm.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/beckwith-wins-appeal-conduct-was-inappropriate-but-did-not-breach-code

Two partners who saw more than £100m pass through their firm’s client account for a car parking and storage pod investment scheme have been fined for misconduct.

https://www.legalfutures.co.uk/latest-news/partners-saw-100m-pass-through-client-account-from-car-park-scheme