All Regulation and compliance articles – Page 163
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NewsLSB approves new rules for conveyancing referral fees
The Legal Services Board has granted an application by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers to alter the rules on referral arrangements in conveyancing work.
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FeatureHow public authorities should behave
Changes in the position of ‘intransigent and misleading public authority’
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News
Advocacy quality scheme gets final go-ahead
The Legal Services Board today gave the final go-ahead to the controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates, citing poor standards of advocacy to justify its introduction.
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News
Ombudsman proposes one-stop shop for all complaints
The Legal Ombudsman today proposes creating a common portal for all complaints about professional services
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News
SRA approves £50-£350 charge scale for advocacy accreditation
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has approved the fees that solicitors will be required to pay for accreditation under the controversial Quality Assurance Scheme for Advocates (QASA). Fees are set for the four accreditation levels and solicitors will have to make payment on registration, on progression and when seeking reaccreditation. To ...
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OpinionGovernment bank sanction plans are flawed
The Treasury has accepted the recommendation of the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards
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News
Healthcheck detects public unease at bar regulator 'bias'
Complainants to the Bar Standards Board have accused the regulator of bias in favour of barristers as dissatisfaction grows about transparency and openness. The BSB’s yearly healthcheck survey found increasing public unease about its complaints process, despite the number of complaints falling in the past year. At the board’s monthly ...
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Opinion
Embracing compliance - like going to the gym
Much has been said and reported about the cost of regulatory compliance, but not so much about the benefits of compliance as a driver of quality and competitive advantage through creating better processes and controls. The SRA’s report Attitudes to regulation and compliance in legal services showed that the majority ...
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News
Ombudsman tries to extend reach as job cuts loom
The Legal Ombudsman will next week set out plans for a voluntary scheme to cover unregulated parts of the legal sector. A discussion paper will be released just days after proposals to cut 10% of its staff were confirmed. The ombudsman told workers this week that 25 roles are being ...
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News
Regulator defiant over licensing One Legal
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has defended its decision to grant an alternative business structure licence to a company owned by Trevor Howarth, the legal director of Stobart Barristers, who faces a possible trial for contempt of court. The SRA last week licensed One Legal, a company set up in September ...
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News
SRA’s 2013 diversity data collection system goes live
Firms can now report their workforce diversity data, including sexual orientation, ethnicity, age and gender, through a new online facility on mySRA, the Solicitors Regulation Authority announced today. Collection of this data is a Legal Services Board requirement to promote transparency and diversity in the legal services market, the SRA ...
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Opinion
Speedier ABS processing
In response to Adam Entwistle's letter which was critical of the time taken by the SRA to process an ABS licensing application, I would like to reassure potential applicants that this has speeded up significantly since we introduced changes earlier this year. We listened to the profession, and took into ...
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News
Direct Line applies to set up law firm through ABS
Britain’s biggest car insurer, Direct Line Group, has applied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority to become an alternative business structure. The insurer wants to create a newly formed and wholly owned law firm, DLG Legal Services, to operate in partnership with existing law firm Parabis. Direct Line Group already provides ...
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News
Convey Law becomes ABS
Convey Law, which claims to be one of the country’s top 10 residential conveyancing companies, has been granted ABS status by the Council for Licensed Conveyancers. The firm’s sales and marketing director Rob Hosier told the Gazette that the firm applied to change its status because it is owned by ...
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News
Stobart director gains licence for solicitor ABS as ‘final piece in the jigsaw’
Trevor Howarth, legal director of Stobart Barristers, has been granted an alternative business structure licence by the Solicitors Regulation Authority for a company he set up with an employment barrister, he confirmed today. The SRA has licensed One Legal, a company set up by Howarth and employment barrister Tim Edge ...
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News
SRA set to agree major increase in fining powers
Proposals for significant increases in the fining powers of the Solicitors Regulation Authority are set to be agreed this week. The SRA regulatory risk committee will meet tomorrow to recommend new fining guidelines of between £500 and £50,000 for most firms and individuals. For firms with domestic turnover of more ...
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News
Next year's PC fees agreed today – full details
Individual solicitors will be shielded from significant fee increases next year but most firms will pay more. The Law Society today agreed that its net funding requirement for 2014 will be £116.8m, an increase from £103.5m the previous year. The funds cover the Society, Solicitors Regulation Authority and external bodies ...
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Opinion
Should we allow non-graduate entry?
SRA chair Charles Plant says there should be a return to non-graduate entry to the profession. Over the years I have thought this too. After all, I am a five-year man myself. At the end of this month I retire and my views have changed. The law too has changed, ...
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News
Solicitors Regulation Authority shuts two firms
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has closed immigration firm Mulberry Finch Limited and Gloucestershire practice Peter Stafford Eales. The SRA said that Mulberry Finch, based in Conduit Street, London, failed to comply with the SRA Principles, the Code of Conduct and Accounts Rules. Peter Stafford Eales, of Turnpike Gate, Gloucestershire, was ...