Money laundering has ascended the enforcement and criminological agenda in the course of this century, and has been accompanied by an increased focus on legal professionals as ‘enablers’ of crime. This article explores the dynamics of this enforcement, media and political agenda, and how the legal profession has responded in the UK and elsewhere, within…
Making sense of professional enablers’ involvement in laundering organized crime proceeds and of their regulation
Money laundering has ascended the enforcement and criminological agenda in the course of this century, and has been accompanied by an increased focus on legal professionals as ‘enablers’ of crime. This article explores the dynamics of this enforcement, media and political agenda, and how the legal profession has responded in the UK and elsewhere, within…
LawCare, a mental health charity for the UK legal sector, has issued advice to employers to combat loneliness
LawCare has issued advice to the beginning of mental health week in Scotland. This year mental health week was focused on combating loneliness. LawCare has encouraged individuals and employers to: Reach out to a colleague an informal chat about how things are going; Share experiences about the challenges they have faced working in the law…
Legal-aid bill assessment shake up in the UK paused by Ministry of Justice
The Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom has shelved plans to stop legal-aid bills from being court assessed and bring them inhouse. Under the current system legal-aid practitioners can choose to have bills between £2,500 and £25,000 assessed by the courts or the Legal Aid Agency. Under the new scheme the Ministry of Justice wanted…
UK Competition and Markets Authority to research Scottish legal services market
The Competition and Markets Authority has issued the following press release regarding its impending research into certain aspects of the Scottish legal services market to support the Scottish Government’s response to the Roberton Review. The following release was published 17 June 2019. This work has been prompted by the Roberton Review, an Independent Review of…
Solicitors Regulation Authority publishes Residential Conveyancing thematic review
A review about the service provided by solicitors to the public Published 5 April 2019 Executive summary Buying and selling a property is often the most expensive and important financial commitment a person makes in their life. Having access to reliable and good quality legal support really matters. It not only reduces stress and uncertainty,…
Independent Review of UK Legal Services Regulation Launched
The Centre for Ethics and Law in the UCL Faculty of Laws is undertaking a fundamental review of the current regulatory framework for legal services, led by Honorary Professor Stephen Mayson. The independent review is intended to explore the longer-term and related issues raised by the 2016 Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) market study, which concluded that the legal services sector…
Transparency lies at the heart of Consumer Satisfaction
In January, the Legal Services Board (LSB) of England & Wales released its Regulatory Performance: Transitional Assessment Review looking at the transitional assessment of each legal services regulatory body against the LSB’s regulatory performance standards. The report found that it had “sufficient assurance that the regulatory bodies have met the minimum required level of performance…
Enforcing legal conduct to protect quality of legal services
Enforcement of professional codes and laws of conduct is a critical facet of legal regulation. Lawyer misconduct can have severe ramifications for consumers and the wider legal services market, eroding the reputation of the industry and jurisdiction. However, the processes and protocols for reporting misconduct by a legal service provider is often difficult or lengthy…
Incoming Bar chair warns of “nightmare scenario” over regulation
The Bar could be “sleep walking into a nightmare scenario” where new rules mean it has no involvement with its regulator, the incoming chairman of the Bar Council has warned. Richard Atkins QC also suggested that the Legal Services Board (LSB) did not have the evidence to back up its assertion that its proposed internal…