Treat overseas register regime ‘like AML compliance with bells on’, solicitors told
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (14 October 2022) Solicitors have been advised to tread carefully if asked to help register foreign owners of UK property under government measures to crack down on money laundering. The Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022 introduced a register of overseas entities, which came into force on 1 August, requiring […]
Witnesses can give evidence by WhatsApp, Court of Appeal rules
By Sam Tobin >> (21 September 2022) Witnesses can give evidence in criminal trials from outside the UK via WhatsApp when it is ‘in the interests of justice’, the Court of Appeal said today. The popular messaging platform, which uses end-to-end encryption, is ‘capable of being regarded as sufficiently secure’ for giving evidence in open […]
Paperless conveyancing ‘the norm’ by 2025, Land Registry suggests
By Michael Cross >> (1 September 2022) Secure paperless buying and selling of property ‘could be the norm’ by 2024-25, HM Land Registry has suggested in its latest strategy for end-to-end digital conveyancing. The aspiration appears in the agency’s Strategy 2022+, published yesterday along with a three-year business plan. Announcing the strategy, the registry said it […]
Exam operator announces refunds for SQE fiasco
By Gazette Reporter >> (2 August 2022) Candidates for the Solicitors Qualifying Examination whose test was cancelled after they had spent more than five hours in a test centre have been offered refunds – more than a week after the Gazette revealed the fiasco. Because of what was described as an ‘IT issue’, 111 people were unable to […]
‘Insufficient lawyers’ to cross-examine parties in domestic abuse cases
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (22 July 2022) The Law Society has welcomed a ban on domestic abuse complainants being cross-examined by the alleged perpetrator in family and civil proceedings – but is worried that not enough lawyers will be available to step in. Measures under the Domestic Abuse Act preventing parties being cross-examined by their […]
Updated sentencing guidelines to cover new driving offences
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (8 July 2022) Drivers who seriously injure someone face up to five years in prison under updated sentencing guidelines that cover offences created in the last decade. Current guidelines for motoring offences were published in 2008 by the Sentencing Council’s predecessor body. Since then, the government has raised the maximum penalties […]
London Legal Walk – 2022
London: 5 July 2022 – Team MT UK with more than 800 teams and over 12,000 walkers from the Legal sector participated in London Legal Walk on Tuesday 28 June 2022, with the intention to raise funds for the London Legal Support Trust (LLST), an independent charity trust that helps people in obtaining free legal […]
HMCTS figures confirm divorce ‘bulge’
By Monidipa Fouzder >> (16 June 2022) Nearly 13,000 couples filed for divorce in the first four weeks after reforms designed to make the process less acrimonious came into force, according to official figures. This equates to roughly 1,000 more applications per week than in the same period last year. Under provisions of the Divorce, […]
Guidance: EU Settlement Scheme: Zambrano primary carers
(Published 13 June 2022) Following the Court of Appeal’s judgment in the case of Akinsanya, the Home Secretary has reconsidered the EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) requirements for applicants relying on being a Zambrano primary carer. Such a person is a direct relative or legal guardian who, at the end of the transition period on 31 December […]
First electronically signed property deal goes through
By Michael Cross >> (1 June 2022) Top-100 firm Hugh James has become the first conveyancer to complete a transaction with HM Land Registry with an electronic signature which does not require a witness. The transaction was enabled with a ‘qualified electronic signature’ verified by an electronic identity check. The process of transferring title took […]
