The Solicitors Indemnity Fund (SIF) was established in 1987 to provide compulsory professional indemnity cover to all solicitor firms in private practice throughout England and Wales. It is effectively a fund of last resort for clients. According to the SIF website: SIF has three distinct roles: It provides indemnity to all firms of solicitors in …
Continue reading “SIF – consultation”
The LAA has announced changes which are being made on 1 November 2021 affecting remote working for supervisors and the acceptance of remote civil applications. These changes affect the: 2017 Standard Crime Contract; and 2018 Standard Civil Contract. Supervisors will be required to be accessible to those that they supervise during working hours. This will …
Continue reading “LAA – changes”
Family and conveyancing practitioners might consider referring their clients to some helpful guidance that HMLR has recently issued regarding the steps to take to change a name on a register after civil partnership or marriage. The guidance is aimed at members of the public. HMLR points out that having an incorrect name on a register …
Continue reading “HMLR – name change on register”
Another recent update to a Practice Guide by HMLR which will be of interest to practitioners beyond those in the conveyancing department relates to PG76 (charging orders). HMLR has added section 7 to explain how to reflect the assignment of charging orders on the register. It refers to existing guidance in PG19 (notices and restrictions) …
Continue reading “Charging orders – assignment”
Practitioners regulated by CILEX should be aware that as of 25 October 2021, the new CILEX Regulation Enforcement Rules 2021 are effective. The Rules have been amended to take into account the addition of ACCA probate practitioners. The Enforcement Rules set out details of the procedures and panels for CILEX Regulation’s disciplinary processes. Source: https://cilexregulation.org.uk/2021/10/25/11243/.
The SRA has announced that a new clause making it clear what cover will be provided for cyber losses will be added to the minimum terms and conditions of law firms’ professional indemnity insurance (PII) policies. The clause means insurance policies will explicitly mention cover for cybercrime and specify what losses fall within scope for …
Continue reading “Cybercrime clause – PII”
All practitioners may be interested to note that the Law Society updated its practice note on conflicts of interest on 18 October 2021. The practice note sets out guidance on identifying and managing situations where a conflict of interest arises, or there is a significant risk of a conflict of interest occurring. This practice note …
Continue reading “Conflicts – practice note”
The HC has dismissed a claim against a law firm arising from an email being sent by the firm to the incorrect recipient. This case related to a single email with attachments sent by the defendants who represented a school to which the first two claimants owed school fees. The school had instructed the defendants …
Continue reading “Wayward email – no distress”