On 23 February the fifth Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary session concluded with some important outcomes for the legal industry. Three days of discussions on key money laundering, terrorism financing and proliferation financing issues have produced new risk-based guidance for the implementation of Recommendation 25 on the beneficial ownership and transparency of legal arrangements. This…
Problems of Professional Ethics of a Lawyer and Legal Rhetoric
Yusupova, N. S. (2023). Problems of professional ethics of a lawyer and legal rhetoric. Conferencea, 88-93. This article discusses the main problems that hinder the development of the professional ethics of lawyers as one of the fundamental foundations of the legal profession in the Republic of Uzbekistan. A comparative legal analysis of foreign countries in…
“They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know”: A Study of Diversion in Lieu of Lawyer Discipline
Levin, L. C., & Fortney, S. S. (2023). ‘They Don’t Know What They Don’t Know’: A Study of Diversion in Lieu of Lawyer Discipline. Georgetown Journal of Legal Ethics, Forthcoming. Lawyer misconduct can have devastating consequences for clients. But what is the appropriate regulatory response when lawyers make less serious mistakes? For almost thirty years, jurisdictions…
The Law Society of New South Wales to establish a taskforce to help solicitors navigate AI
The Law Society of New South Wales, under new President Brett McGrath, will establish a taskforce of legal and tech experts to aid 40,000 solicitors in navigating AI opportunities and challenges while guiding government regulations. This initiative, announced during the 2024 Law Term opening, underscores the society’s commitment to supporting the profession amid technological advancements…
The State Bar of California seeks to address projected budget shortfall with license fee increase
The State Bar of California’s Board of Trustees addressed significant budget challenges during their January meeting, planning to request a licensing fee increase for 2025 from the Legislature. With a projected deficit in the General Fund, discussions highlighted the need for sustainable funding to maintain operations and implement necessary reforms. The Board approved a cost-reduction…
The Bar Council of India’s proposal to permit practice by foreign lawyers and law firms in India hits a roadblock
In February, the Delhi High Court accepted a petition challenging the BCI’s March 2023 rules published in the India Law Gazette permitting limited practice by foreign lawyers and law firms in India. The petition, filed by advocate Narendra Sharma and others, challenges the BCI’s authority to make these regulations under the Advocates Act of 1961….
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales is running a Reshaping Legal Services Conference in March 2024
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales is running a Reshaping Legal Services Conference on 7 March 2024, below is an abridged version of the programme: Ethics: Ethics, integrity and the rule of law The human impact of aggressive litigation: In conversation with Lee Castleton Panel: Professional ethics and the rule of law: The…
Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales launches a review of consumer protection
The SRA has initiated a comprehensive review of consumer protection measures in response to the emergence of new risks in the legal sector. The review targets two primary areas: firstly, enhancing risk identification, monitoring, and approval processes for regulated law firms to mitigate consumer harm, particularly around client money; secondly, assessing the adequacy of current…
People centred justice initiative in Kenya attempts to bridge the access to justice gap
Pathfinders, an access to justice umbrella civil society organisation based at New York University has published a report on Kenya’s alternative justice system. The global justice gap affects billions worldwide, with 4.5 billion people lacking access to legal opportunities, and 1.5 billion facing unresolved legal issues. A shift toward people-centred justice acknowledges the inadequacy of…
February feature: On-going regulatory reform
This month’s feature looks at a few of the jurisdictions currently engaging in a review of the legislative framework for the regulation of legal services. These reviews cover issues ranging from a restatement of the objectives of lawyer regulation through to a fundamental redesign of the architecture of regulation and the roles and responsibilities of…