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Regulatory Column

15 November 2007
Issue: 7297 / Categories: Features , Regulatory
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northern rock: the aftermath >>
CODE OF PRACTICE FOR REGulATORS >>
MEDICAL PROFESSION REGULATION >>

financial regulation—does the system work?

The events surrounding the first modern run on a British bank have put the Financial Services Authority (FSA) rudely back into the spotlight after a period of quiet reorganisation and reflection by the UK’s financial regulator. Until the Northern Rock drama unfurled, the FSA was confidently rolling out its new risk-based approach to regulation while streamlining its workforce. The reforms were generally met with approval and the FSA was praised for the new emphasis on the “light touch” and for its devolution of responsibility to the regulated community. At the same time, London was busily being feted as the world’s No 1 financial centre and all seemed well from the regulator’s vantage point in Canary Wharf.

The French have a particular saying involving soup and the devil. The gist is that once you have made yourself a nice soup, Beelzebub has a habit of spoiling it. In essence, the Northern Rock affair seems to have been a soup-spoiling moment

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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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