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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

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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