Brexit saves Chancery Lane’s bacon as Government backs off proposals to split SRA from Law Society

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Brexit saves Chancery Lane’s bacon as Government backs off proposals to split SRA from Law Society

The hopes of the UK’s largest legal watchdog of being separated from the Law Society appear to have been dashed, according to a Government paper that backs away from a full split of lawyers’ trade union and regulatory bodies.

The Ministry of Justice review, published today (19 July), indicates that the government is backing off earlier proposals to fully separate the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), the profession’s primary front-line regulator, from the Law Society. Continue reading “Brexit saves Chancery Lane’s bacon as Government backs off proposals to split SRA from Law Society”

‘Acted recklessly’: White & Case fined record sum by SDT for conflict of interest breach

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‘Acted recklessly’: White & Case fined record sum by SDT for conflict of interest breach

White & Case has been fined £250,000 in the largest-ever sanction imposed by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) against a firm, as it said today (19 July) that the firm had breached conduct rules by acting recklessly in failing to identify a conflict of interest and failure to protect confidential information regarding a $2bn Ukrainian commercial dispute.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) referred the case to the SDT after the High Court found in 2014 that the firm had failed to identify a conflict of interest and barred it from acting on the case. Continue reading “‘Acted recklessly’: White & Case fined record sum by SDT for conflict of interest breach”

‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures

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‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off former Clyde & Co senior associate Rajpal Ahluwalia from the roll and ordered him to pay over £41,000 in costs after a series of failures starting in 2013, when he omitted to file a client’s defence.

The June judgment followed a 9-11 May hearing, at which Ahluwalia admitted failing to ensure that a client’s defence in 2013 was filed in good time, resulting in default judgment and £500,000 damages and costs.

Continue reading “‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures”

Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fine Google €2.4bn for abuse of dominance in online shopping comparison

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Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fine Google €2.4bn for abuse of dominance in online shopping comparison

The European Commission (EC) has today (27 June) fined Google €2.4bn for abuse of dominance as a search engine, illegally promoting its own comparison shopping service above others in breach of antitrust law, creating expectations of a raft of damages claims based on the finding.

Continue reading “Cleary, CC and Covington lead as EC fine Google €2.4bn for abuse of dominance in online shopping comparison”

‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures

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‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures

The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has struck off former Clyde & Co senior associate Rajpal Ahluwalia from the solicitor’s roll and ordered him to pay over £41,000 in costs after a series of failures starting in 2013 when he omitted to file a defence in a client’s case.

Continue reading “‘Cavalier’: former Clyde & Co litigator struck off roll after string of misleading failures”

Guest Post: Martyn’s Day – I’m relieved with the result but we’ll need reflection to learn anything useful

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Guest Post: Martyn’s Day – I’m relieved with the result but we’ll need reflection to learn anything useful

For some time, I have known how I would start my inevitable blogpost about Leigh Day’s disciplinary hearing. Win or lose, I would want to state unequivocally my prior belief, my starting point. That starting point is best indicated by what I told a legal magazine when asked three years ago which lawyer I most admired and why? I thought for a bit and then told them Martyn Day. There were, from memory, two reasons.

Continue reading “Guest Post: Martyn’s Day – I’m relieved with the result but we’ll need reflection to learn anything useful”

SDT clears Leigh Day and three of its lawyers in high-profile Iraqi claims misconduct prosecution

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SDT clears Leigh Day and three of its lawyers in high-profile Iraqi claims misconduct prosecution

The Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) has today (9 June) cleared Leigh Day and three of its lawyers accused of professional misconduct relating to allegedly pursuing false damages claims of torture and murder made by Iraqi civilians against British troops in Iraq. Continue reading “SDT clears Leigh Day and three of its lawyers in high-profile Iraqi claims misconduct prosecution”