The Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales has published the Legal Choices report for 2022. Legal Choices is a website that helps consumers make informed decisions when choosing a legal professional, as well as offering information on a range of legal topics such as legal aid, no win no fee and legal insurance. The…
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society has amended its Model Code of Conduct
The Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society has amended its Model Code of Conduct relating to discrimination, harassment and ex parte communication. These amendments are in line with amendments made by the Federation of Law Societies of Canada to its Model Code of Conduct. This is part of a wider move to harmonise, as much as possible,…
Bar Standards Board of England and Wales sets out plan to assure competence of barristers
The Bar Standards Board (BSB) of England and Wales has responded to the Legal Services Board statement on ongoing competence. The response comes with an action plan for ensuring the competence of barristers. Currently the BSB employs a number of measures to ensure competence including: The Professional Statement, which describes the knowledge, skills and aptitude that…
American Bar Association propose amendments to Model Rules of Professional Conduct
The Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility and Committee on Professional Regulation has produced a third discussion draft of possible amendments to the Model Rules of Professional Conduct. These possible changes aim to clarify lawyer’s obligations on client due diligence. This comment period has been influenced by the previous two drafts and the public comments…
The Victoria Legal Services Board in Australia has published its Gender Equality Action Plan 2022-2025
The Victoria Legal Services Board has published its Gender Equality Action Plan 2022-2025, with a view to challenging gender inequality within the organisation. The key focus areas, actions and measures identified in the GEAP align with objectives in VLSB+C’s Corporate Plan 2022-24, particularly in the People, Technology and Governance section of the plan. That section…
HM Treasury releases Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Supervision Report 2020-2022
HM Treasury has released a report : Anti-money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism: Supervision 2020-2022. The report, which was published in December 2022, reports on the activity and performance of legal pubic body supervisors in tackling anti-money laundering. The key findings in the report are as follows: inadequate documented policies and procedures inadequate…
The Legal Services Board of England and Wales has published its annual assessment of performance of the legal regulators it oversees
The Legal Services Board of England & Wales has published its annual performance assessment of the eight legal regulators it oversees. Each regulatory body regulates different types of lawyers and service providers, however, all of the bodies have the same obligations under the Legal Services Act 2007. Each regulator was assessed on five categories: Regulatory…
The New Zealand Law Society publishes its Regulatory Strategy 2022-2025 ‘Navigating the Future’
The strategy aligns with the findings and decisions from the Independent Review of the statutory framework for lawyers, which has been commissioned to examine the regulation and representation of legal services in Aotearoa New Zealand, this includes the structure and functions of the Law Society. The key shifts made in the new regulatory strategy are:…
The Scottish Government publishes its official remarks in response to reforms on legal regulation
The Scottish government plans to bring forward legislation to reform and update the regulation of legal services in Scotland. The proposed legislation comes on the back of a consultation undertaken in 2021 to identify areas of improvement in a regulatory system largely written in the 1980s. The consultation ran between October and November 2021, with…
Solicitors Regulation Authority of England and Wales issues financial sanctions guidance
The focus on how UK businesses interact with those connected to certain countries and organisations – and the Government’s sanctions regime – has increased since the Russian invasion of Ukraine. There have been a number of changes to the regime, so the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has published guidance to help law firms in England…