Neil Rose

United Kingdom

Director and Editor at Legal Futures

My more personal account. Follow @LegalFutures and @LitFutures for the latest legal news. Warning: this account will contain tweets about Luton Town

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Articles

Barristers "should tell chambers and regulator" about complaints

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

Barristers will be required to inform both their chambers and their regulator about the complaints they receive, under plans published yesterday by the Bar Standards Board (BSB). It said this would help identify those with “disproportionately high numbers” of complaints, among other benefits. “The [BSB] wants to have greater oversight and understanding of client complaints at the Bar, which requires intelligence and data,” a consultation said.
Court quashes part of LeO's £51,000 award against law firm

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

The Legal Ombudsman (LeO) was wrong to find that a law firm failed to adequately assess a client’s capacity and should pay her £15,700 in compensation, the High Court has ruled. But it upheld LeO’s separate finding that London family law firm Aina Khan Law (AKL) should pay the client £35,500 for failing to update her on the escalating costs of her divorce proceedings.
Consultant not entitled to 40% of all firm's work for client

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

A consultant solicitor in a long-running dispute with his former law firm over his entitlement to a share of its fees has failed in his appeal to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Judge Michael Ford KC held that Employment Judge Elliott in London had rightly interpreted Alastair Dobbie’s consultancy agreement with London firm Feltons as only entitling him to 40% of the fees he charged a particular client, rather than all the fees the firm charged that client.
LSB lays out actions for SRA to avoid another Axiom Ince

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been given statutory directions to address the multiple failures in its oversight of Axiom Ince. The Lord Chancellor, Shabana Mahmood, has also told it “to take accountability” for its failings, in what may be a veiled reference to the regulator’s refusal last year to apologise.
Law firm fined £120,000 for 15 years of AML failures

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

A Kent law firm that failed to comply with anti-money laundering (AML) rules for more than 15 years has been fined £120,000 by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT). It said a “well-established firm” of the “size and level of resources” of Martin Tolhurst Solicitors “ought reasonably to have known that the misconduct was in material breach of its obligations to protect the public and the reputation of the legal profession”.
Apprenticeship funding cut will "undo progress" in profession's diversity

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

Changes announced yesterday to how Level 7 apprenticeships are funded will undo “years of progress” in improving the legal profession’s diversity, the government has been told. CILEX (the Chartered Institute of Legal Executives) said the decision to make funding available only to those aged 16 to 21 from next year would be “devastating” to women, those from ethnic minorities and those from a lower-income background.
Solicitor struck off for allowing use of closed firm's client account

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

A solicitor who allowed his firm’s client account to facilitate a suspicious £1.1m property transaction 20 months after it had closed has been struck off. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) found that Liaqat Ali had also lied to the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) in initially denying any knowledge of what had happened.
Kent firm's London expansion leads latest M&A deals

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

Kent firm Judge & Priestley has moved into the capital by acquiring Portner Law in one of several mergers and acquisitions announced this month. Judge & Priestley, which has five offices in Kent, is taking on eight partners and around 35 other staff from Portner and will continue to operate from its central London office. It expands the firm to around 300 staff and a turnover in excess of £25m.
Bar regulator drops plan for controversial new equality duty

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

The Bar Standards Board (BSB) has ditched its controversial proposal to require barristers to “act in a way that advances equality, diversity and inclusion”. It has decided against rule changes and instead will develop a strategy that “draws on all of our regulatory tools” to address barriers to equality of opportunity in the profession. “We remain determined to see a step change in progress in encouraging a diverse legal profession,” it said.
Government to restrict funding for solicitor apprenticeships

1 week ago | legalfutures.co.uk | Neil Rose

The government is to restrict funding for Level 7 apprenticeships, like the solicitor offering, to those aged between 16 and 21, it has announced. Despite concerns about the impact on social mobility and diversity in the profession, there is relief that it has not been scrapped altogether. Last autumn, ministers announced a new growth and skills levy to replace the existing apprenticeship levy, introducing new foundation apprenticeships and shorter apprenticeships too.