Editor, Solicitors Journal

COMPETENCE

2 Jan 2020News

The Legal Services Board (LSB) has called for evidence on how regulators can ensure lawyers remain competent. It asked respondents to consider four themes including consumer expectations of competence and competence assurance in legal services and other sectors. The LSB is considering whether a different approach is needed. Chief executive Matthew Hill said: 'Ensuring legal professionals remain competent throughout their careers will help increase trust in legal services and improve access to justice.' The call for evidence closes on 15 May. 21 January

Legal News desk contact: editorial@solicitorsjournal.com

Latest Articles

Magna Carta and constitutional rights in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea demonstrates the continuing influence of Magna Carta principles on constitutional rights and the rule of law

UK lawyers forecast significant AI savings

UK lawyers anticipate artificial intelligence will generate £2.4 billion in productivity savings over the coming year

Estate agents need regulation for reforms

The CLC supports estate agent regulation to enhance home buying, warning reforms will falter without it

Optosafe Limited v Robertson: High Court grants final injunction in harassment and contract breach case

High Court upholds harassment claim and contract breaches against former employee's LinkedIn campaign

Afan Valley Ltd v Lupton Fawcett LLP: Scope of duty in professional negligence claims

Professional negligence claims must demonstrate recoverable loss within duty scope

Ishtiaq Baig v Zoheb Hassan: domicile and jurisdiction in defamation proceedings

High Court clarifies approach to residence test and cross-examination in defamation jurisdiction challenges.

Government seeks thousands of new magistrates

The UK Government has launched a campaign calling for volunteers to become magistrates and help deliver justice across communities

Generative AI in law: opportunity, risk and responsibility

AI promises efficiency in legal practice, but unchecked use risks errors, sanctions, and damage to public confidence

EU moves to reset medical devices regulation

The Commission proposes structural reforms to stabilise, simplify and future-proof the EU medical devices regulatory framework

Why UK paternity leave still fails families

The UK’s paternity leave framework lags Europe, undermining families, equality and long-term economic resilience

Agent signatures fail for trust declarations

Court of Appeal rules that declarations of trust over land must be personally signed to satisfy statutory formalities

The UK anti-corruption strategy: pillar one in focus

How the UK’s latest Anti-Corruption Strategy seeks to disrupt corrupt networks, incentivise whistleblowers, and strengthen enforcement

CD&R Galaxy UK Opco Limited fined £33,438

CD&R Galaxy UK Opco Limited has agreed to a financial penalty and investigation costs following regulatory breaches identified by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.

Using US discovery to support English litigation

How Section 1782 offers a powerful, underused route to obtain US-based evidence for foreign proceedings

FCA priorities and predictions for 2026

A forward-looking assessment of the FCA’s recent focus and what FS regulatory lawyers can expect in the year ahead

SJ Interview: Joelle Grogan

Dr Joelle Grogan is a legal scholar specialising in the rule of law in times of crisis. She presents The Law Show on BBC Radio 4, and is Co-Academic Director of the Rule of Law Clinic at the CEU Democracy Institute (Budapest), and a Senior Research Fellow at the UCD Sutherland School of Law. Her work focuses on constitutional accountability, emergency powers, and legal misinformation. In this interview, she examines the pressures facing the rule of law in the UK, from executive power and court delays to media narratives, emergencies, and the impact of AI on legal practice.

Justice reform risks targeting the wrong fix

As 2026 approaches, ministers eye jury trials while ignoring deeper causes of England’s criminal justice crisis