Compl-i - February 2010
Welcome to our Compl-i newsletter, a bi-monthly review of
regulatory and compliance issues affecting solicitors.
It has been a busy few months in the world of
compliance. Having only introduced the Code of Conduct two and a
half years or so ago, the SRA is now considering making further
radical changes to it. Referral fees remain in the headlines and
there have been ongoing consultations regarding the new Ombudsman
scheme for dealing with complaints which will come into operation
this year. Weightmans will be holding a series of round table
discussion group meetings on this subject over the next few weeks
where you can find out more about the proposals and share views and
concerns with your peer group. Dates are yet to be fixed but please
let us know if you are interested in attending by clicking on the
link to the section headed “Proposed Events” below.
As always this newsletter provides links to
recent practice notes released by the Law Society and open
consultations. In addition it provides links to recently
released SRA guidance.
We hope you find this update of
assistance. Please do not hesitate to contact us at michelle.garlick@weightmans.com
if you have any issues you wish to discuss.
Employment
In this article Gemma Sowerby, Solicitor
in Weightmans’ Employment team, looks at contingency fees in light
of the recent Scottish supreme civil court decision that a
contingency fee drawn up by equal pay solicitor Stefan Cross was
unenforceable.
Property Update
This section provides
an update on the HIPs saga and looks at the proposed changes to the
home buying process.
Referral Fees
In this article we look
at the recent amendments to Rule 9 of the Code of Conduct.
Assigned Risks Pool – Compl-i to the Rescue
This section provides
information on the recent PII nightmare and provides information on
the services on offer for those who have found themselves in the
Assigned Risk Pool or had difficulty obtaining insurance
cover.
Hot Topics
In this section of the newsletter we look at
the Law Society’s suggestion that the PII renewal date should be
staggered, and the SRA’s announcement before Christmas that they
are looking at overhauling solicitor regulation and scrapping
‘unjustified’ rules. Information is also
given on the issues surrounding Suspicious Activity Reports
(SARs).
SRA Guidance
SRA guidance can be
found in this section relating to property fraud, referral fees,
and recent changes in European law.
Open Consultations
An old favourite, this
section provides information and links to a number of open
consultations.
Practice Notes
We include in this
section some practice notes that have recently been published by
the Law Society.
Risky Business
In this Article,
Michelle Garlick looks at the difficulties faced by law firms in
obtaining insurance cover at the last renewal and warns firms to
start preparing for next renewal now.
Proposed events/seminars
In this section we
provide details of forthcoming events being hosted by the
Weightmans Compli team.
This update does not attempt to provide a
full analysis of those matters with which it deals and is provided
for general information purposes only and is not intended to
constitute legal advice and is not treated as a substitute for
legal advice. Weightmans LLP accepts no responsibility for
any loss that may arise from reliance on the information in this
update. The copyright in this update is owned by Weightmans
LLP.