With the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) expecting income derived from the Solicitors Qualifying Exam (SQE) to double this year, there are concerns that the regulator is treating its new way of training lawyers as a “huge cash cow”. According to the SRA’s annual business plan and budget consultation paper, SQE income is expected to more […]
A partner from Mayer Brown’s London office is scheduled to appear before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) later this year over historic allegations related to “know your client” checks. Corporate real estate partner Simon Price is set to appear before the SDT on 11 June for an initial case management hearing. The Lawyer understands that a […]
Litigation firm CANDEY appears before the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) this week, alongside former partner Richard Morris, over allegations of anti-money-laundering (AML) failures. The matter regards a £24m deal for a Northumberland country estate in 2015. No actual fraud or money-laundering has been identified. The SRA alleges that the firm and Morris, who left for […]
Frustrated Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) candidates are calling on the SRA to increase accessibility to the appeals process after a results error saw 175 candidates mistakenly told they had failed their exams. On Monday last week, the SRA announced that 175 candidates who sat SQE1 in January and were told they had failed on 14 […]
The Lawyer‘s Christian Smith, Catrin Griffiths, Richard Simmons, Katy Dowell and Charlotte Lear are joined by College of Legal Practice CEO Giles Proctor for this emergency episode of The Lawyer Podcast as they discuss the latest Solicitors Qualification Exam debacle: marking errors that led to 175 students being incorrectly told they had failed. What went […]
On Tuesday last week (9 April), the SRA sought to quell a rising tide of discontent around the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE). In its most recent SQE annual report, SRA chief executive Paul Philip said the public and profession could have “confidence” in this “rigorous assessment”. That confidence was short-lived. Yesterday (15 April), Philip was […]
Nearly 200 law students were incorrectly told they had failed their first set of Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) exams, in what the chief executive of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has called “the most serious operational mistake that we’ve made in the last two and half years.” Kaplan, the exam administrator for the SQE, has […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is set to hike fees for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE) for the second time in two years, while glossing over issues in the rollout of the exam in its latest annual report. From September this year, the cost of the SQE exams will increase by 5 per cent across […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has come under fire for its candidate confidentiality policy for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination (SQE), as the backlash surrounding the latest set of results rumbles on. A lack of transparency around the content is said to be having a negative impact on preparation course delivery and candidates’ ability to make […]
An ex-Bird & Bird partner will face the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal for allegations of “inappropriate conduct” including “sexualised messages”. The allegations concern Takeshige Sugimoto, who was a partner based in Belgium at the time of the matter. While in a position of seniority over two individuals, Sugimoto is alleged to have made inappropriate comments and […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has imposed practice restrictions on Shoosmiths’ national head of Court of Protection (CoP). The SRA’s conditions relate to Sue Bowler, who has headed Shoosmiths CoP team since 2020. Bowler has been told that she can remain in her current position as partner and head of CoP, subject to the SRA’s […]
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) is liaising with law enforcement authorities over allegations made regarding embattled firm Axiom Ince, as the Metropolitan Police Service confirms a referral was passed on by the regulator. In August, the regulator suspended three partners from Axiom Ince, the firm that acquired Ince Group just four months before and was […]