Plans to regularly check architects’ competence have been announced by the government. The proposals, set out in a consultation announced by Housing Minister Christopher Pincher, will allow the Architects Registration Board (ARB) to set statutory standards of competence for architects…read more
Petition to Government to block Japanese knotweed loophole. Published December 2020
Property developers can sell new homes without disclosing the risk of Japanese knotweed, putting buyers at risk of significant removal costs says Manchester law firm, Graham Coffey & Co. The firm has launched a petition calling on the government to…read more
Law firm fined for ‘acting as a bank’. Published December 2020.
An international law firm has been fined £21,000 by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) for holding millions of pounds in its client account for cases in which it was not involved. Milberg is an affiliate of US class action practice…read more
FRC ‘operational separation’ of audit practices. Published December 2020
The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) ordered the ‘Big Four’ audit firms to implement ‘operational separation’ of their audit practices by June 2024. The move followed high profile audit failures at Carillion, BHS, Patisserie Valerie and Thomas Cook. PwC, Deloitte, EY…read more
HMCTS moving forward with digital courts data collection. Published December 2020
HM Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) is moving forward with data collection recommendations made by researchers, despite claims that progress is ‘disappointingly slow’. In a recently released paper, HMCTS has set out the progress in the last 12 months against…read more
RICS updates COVID-19 valuation guidance. Published November 2020
Uncertainty about property valuations during the COVID-19 pandemic has led the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to reissue its valuation guidance to firms. Originally issued as a ‘valuation practice alert’ at the start of the pandemic, RICS has now…read more
Court rules accountant had no duty of care to shareholder. Published November 2020
A property-owner has failed in her bid to have the demerger of the family business overturned after she accused the company’s accountant of breach of fiduciary duty and professional negligence. Six years later Carmela brought an action to have…read more
Carillion fails in bid to inspect KPMG’s audit papers. Published November 2020
The liquidator of former construction giant Carillion, which spectacularly collapsed in 2018, has failed to persuade the court to order KPMG to disclose its audit working papers. After Carillion went into liquidation with reported debts of £1.5 trillion, questions…read more
Insurers must be allowed to cancel PII policies for non-payment says IUA. Published November 2020
The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has warned the legal profession that professional indemnity insurance may become unsustainable if insurers are not allowed to cancel policies for the non-payment of premiums. In an unprecedented open letter to the profession, the IUA…read more
Deliberate concealment restarts the clock on limitation defence. Published November 2020
Deliberately hiding incriminating facts can overturn the original position on a limitation defence. If the defendant deliberately hides relevant facts, the limitation clock only starts once the concealment is revealed the courts have confirmed. In 2015, RG Securities bought a…read more
