Misconduct

An English pupil barrister who swore throughout an ethics exam has been fined £500 (around €600). Jack Henry Sadler told the Bar Standards Board (BSB) that he was unaware — despite being told — that he could be heard and was being recorded during the professional ethics assess

A suspended solicitor found guilty of professional misconduct in relation to a 2007 land transaction should be struck off, a tribunal has said. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) last month found Declan O'Callaghan guilty on for counts of professional misconduct in relate to the sale of land

A suspended solicitor has been found guilty of four counts of professional misconduct in relation to a 2007 land transaction. The Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal (SDT) will next week consider what sanction to impose on Declan O'Callaghan, who has been suspended from practice since 2018 for unrelate

Northern Ireland solicitor Michael Glover has been handed an 18-month sentence suspended for two years after admitting he defrauded clients to tune of £120,000. Mr Glover, formerly of Carrickfergus firm Glover & King, pleaded guilty to 29 counts of fraud by abuse of his position and one of

Lawyers have been ordered to pay more than €45,000 in compensation over the past six months, a new report from the Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) reveals. In its first complaints report for 2024 and ninth overall, the regulator said it received 637 complaints and closed 796 complain

Nearly half of barristers in England and Wales have experienced or witnessed bullying, harassment and discrimination in their legal work, according to new research by the Bar Council. In the most recent survey, 44 per cent of respondents said they had experienced or observed this behaviour while wor

The growth of litigation crowdfunding could lead to 'inverse SLAPPs' which appear to funders to be in the public interest but are "simultaneously meritless as a legal matter", a new report says. The warning comes in new research published by the Legal Services Board (LSB) in England and Wales last w

A solicitor was directed to pay €500 to a client who won a payout in a personal injuries case after not adequately explaining the costs involved. The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) found that the legal services "were of an inadequate standard because the poor communication from the

Northern Ireland's High Court has dismissed an action brought by a solicitor who alleged that complaints made about him to the Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) were defamatory. Delivering the judgment, Danny Friedman KC, sitting as a High Court judge, noted the complaints were worthy of absolu

A research project suggests that socio-cognitive biases might be a factor in the disproportionate number of misconduct complaints brought against English and Welsh solicitors from Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds. The first report of the study, commissioned by the Solicitors Regu

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has warned practitioners that they must comply with its directions on foot of consumer complaints or risk being brought to the High Court. The regulator issued the reminder as it published its annual report for 2022, showing that it issued seven applica

A former lawyer at Gowling WLG has been struck off the roll for engaging in a "fantasised" sexual relationship with an 18-year-old female colleague whilst in a senior role. It is believed to be the first instance of a solicitor being struck off for non-criminal sexual misconduct at work, The Law Soc

The High Court has ruled that negligence proceedings against a firm of solicitors should be struck out due to inordinate and inexcusable delay in prosecuting the proceedings. The plaintiff had initiated proceedings in 2013 and had passed away in 2020. The proceedings were maintained by his son. Deli

The Legal Services Regulatory Authority (LSRA) has secured High Court orders against two solicitors in the first use of its enforcement powers since it began receiving complaints three years ago. The regulator's second complaints report for 2022 reveals that the LSRA has made two successful enforcem

A barrister who claimed legal aid fees for an "obviously impossible" amount of work — in some cases for more than 24 hours' work per day — has been fined £50,000 and suspended from practice for two months. The Bar of Northern Ireland's disciplinary appeal committee has determined t