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Regulation matters: a duty too far?

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Clare Hughes-Williams & Tom Bedford highlight the importance of ensuring solicitors stay on the right side of the line when acting in their clients’ interests
  • Any conduct by a solicitor which could be regarded as an attempt to further their client’s agenda at the expense of their duties to the public and the court is likely to be the subject of regulatory scrutiny.
  • Practitioners must bear in mind that the outcome of a case will never be more important than the duty to comply with their obligations.

Following a recent investigation, The Daily Mail has asserted that it has uncovered allegedly questionable practices on the part of some law firms when completing asylum applications for their clients. It is said that applicants were advised to embellish their applications and that they were coached and generally encouraged to behave in a dishonest way, with the sole purpose of succeeding in obtaining asylum. This has caused a political furore at the highest levels of government. The Solicitors

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Birketts—trainee cohort

Birketts—trainee cohort

Firm welcomes new cohort of 29 trainee solicitors for 2025

Keoghs—four appointments

Keoghs—four appointments

Four partner hires expand legal expertise in Scotland and Northern Ireland

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Brabners—Ben Lamb

Real estate team in Yorkshire welcomes new partner

NEWS
Robert Taylor of 360 Law Services warns in this week's NLJ that adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) risks entrenching disadvantage for SME law firms, unless tools are tailored to their needs
From oligarchs to cosmetic clinics, strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) target journalists, activists and ordinary citizens with intimidating legal tactics. Writing in NLJ this week, Sadie Whittam of Lancaster University explores the weaponisation of litigation to silence critics
Delays and dysfunction continue to mount in the county court, as revealed in a scathing Justice Committee report and under discussion this week by NLJ columnist Professor Dominic Regan of City Law School. Bulk claims—especially from private parking firms—are overwhelming the system, with 8,000 cases filed weekly
Writing in NLJ this week, Thomas Rothwell and Kavish Shah of Falcon Chambers unpack the surprise inclusion of a ban on upwards-only rent reviews in the English Devolution and Community Empowerment Bill
Charles Pigott of Mills & Reeve charts the turbulent progress of the Employment Rights Bill through the House of Lords, in this week's NLJ
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