GDPR Training in 2026: Is your firm equipped for the Data (Use and Access) Act?
UK data protection law has changed under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA), with all provisions of the Act now in force as of June 2026, including the new mandatory complaints-handling procedure. For many law firms, this raises a difficult question: does your GDPR training still reflect the law as it stands, or […]
£16k fine for failing to identify PEP in property transactions
The Solicitors Regulation Authority has imposed a £16,092 fine on a firm which failed to identify a politically exposed person (PEP) in a series of residential property transactions. Leadenhall Law Group Limited acted for a non-domestic PEP and their associated companies across 14 residential property purchase transactions, all of which proceeded to completion. An investigation […]
Cumbria firm continues expansion with new acquisition
Cumbria firm Bendles continues its expansion with the acquisition of Atkinson Ritson. The acquisition follows Bendles’ merger with Gaynham, King & Mellor earlier this year, in a deal which saw Bendles’ Cumbria presence expand from Carlisle, Wigton and Whitehaven to Penrith, Appleby and Kirkby Stephen. The acquisition of Atkinson Ritson – itself the result of […]
Firm news: conveyancing and residential property appointments
Bell Lamb & Joynson Solicitors has promoted Michaela Hayes to partner and joint head of residential conveyancing. Women now make up 67% of the firm’s partnership. Hayes (pictured above) joined the firm in 2021 as a residential conveyancing solicitor. The promotion reflects her outstanding client care, technical expertise and commitment to mentoring colleagues, the firm […]
The ground rent quid pro quo consultation is a bear trap
Leasehold expert Mark Wilson has examined the government’s consultation on quid pro quo ground rents and, instead of finding a request for information, he thinks it’s a test that’s been designed to be failed. I recently read the government’s consultation on quid pro quo ground rents, issued alongside the draft Commonhold and Leasehold Reform […]