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NLJ this week: Lies, dishonesty & the factors that stop solicitors being struck off

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Dishonesty is certainly in the headlines this week, but politics aside, what happens when solicitors are dishonest? In this week’s NLJ, Jessica Clay and Lucinda Soon examine the ‘exceptional circumstances’ which can save a dishonest solicitor from being struck off.

Clay, partner, and Soon, legal director, at Kingsley Napley, cover some cases where a strike-off sanction would be ‘disproportionate’ in the view of the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal. While expulsion from the profession is ‘the starting point’, there are a variety of factors which can lead to a lesser sanction.

In an article which should interest all practising solicitors, Clay and Soon unpick these mitigating factors and trace consistently appearing patterns in the caselaw. For example, what amounts to a ‘momentary lapse of judgement’? What is the significance of a lack of personal gain and motivation? What makes for a cumulative approach? 

Find out the answers to these questions and more in the article here.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Switalskis—Naila Arif, Harriet Findlay & Ellie Thompson

Firm awards training contracts to paralegals through internal programme

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Ward Hadaway—Matthew Morton

Private client disputes specialist joins commercial litigation team

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Thomson Hayton Winkley—Nina Hood

Cumbria firm appoints new head of residential property

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Family law must shift from conflict-driven litigation to child-centred problem-solving, according to a major new report. Writing in NLJ this week, Caroline Bowden of Anthony Gold outlines findings showing overwhelming support for reform, with 92% agreeing lawyers owe duties to children as well as clients
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