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SRA Compliance and Practice Management Software
For most law firms and legal practitioners, regulatory compliance is never far from mind. Can practice management software help lawyers to meet their regulatory requirements, including those set out by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)? Andrew Donovan, founder of the Compliance Office, examines this issue in this guest blog, written for Clio, the practice management system for law firms. SRA requirements and practice management software We don’t tend to think of lawyers as being especially vulnerable individuals in contract...
Compliance Update April 2022
Workplace culture matters So concluded the SRA’s recent Thematic Review. Worryingly, a quarter of those surveyed felt their firm didn’t have a positive culture and highlighted concerns such as long working hours. The review sets out the regulator’s expectations and suggests ways firms could improve workplace culture, including: Use surveys to spot issues over time Give leaders time and resources to support people Offer ongoing support at all levels Set clear working hours expectations Create a no blame culture The full review includes good...
Compliance Update January 2022
Hot topics Cybercrime losses Following a public consultation and discussions with insurer representatives as well as the Law Society, the SRA has issued a press release confirming that a new clause making it clear what cover will be provided for cyber losses will be added to the minimum terms and conditions of law firms’ professional indemnity insurance policies. This should be in place for current renewals as the SRA said it expected them to be in place by the end of 2021. Here is the full press release. Anti-money laundering The SRA has...
Compliance Update November 2021
Hot topics Are you being asked for 'solicitor' undertakings instead of firm undertakings? There has been a recent Supreme Court case on undertakings which may result in LLP and limited company law firms doing property work in particular receiving requests for undertakings from individual solicitors personally rather than by the firm. The legal position does not seem to have changed - the potential for weakness in an entity undertaking has been recognised for a while. But in effect it seems that this new case has done much to publicise the...
Is this a serious rule breach? 5-step SRA reporting checklist for COLPs, COFAs & law firms
I read a bizarre and sad story recently about a solicitor disciplined by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal following local newspaper reports of him hitting his 71-year old mother in the face with a saucepan. The local press suggested that the solicitor’s defence was that he had simply been watching snooker at the time and had thrown his arms up in disbelief when Ronnie O’Sullivan missed an easy shot and he just happened to be holding a saucepan full of dumplings at the time! It speaks volumes to the cavernous depths of my SRA compliance...
SRA Price Transparency Law Firm Website Rules: 16 points to check
Reports in the legal press have confirmed that the SRA this week wrote to approximately 8,000 law firms requiring that the COLP (which means Compliance Officer for Legal Practice) declare "whether you have a website that is compliant with the Rules" and which contains the SRA digital badge. This is the same tactic used by the SRA for the money laundering risk assessments and so we know that what will follow are further spot checks. We also know that the SRA has been willing to fine law firms for failing to meet its standards in this area. ...
Compliance Update July 2021
New rules and guidance from SRA Anti-money laundering ('AML') - SRA priority risk Updated AML Guidance has now been published by the Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG): https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/topics/anti-money-laundering/anti-money-laundering-guidance. Though a long document, it is most likely essential reading at least for the compliance team / MLRO / MLCO. There is a very useful checklist at the beginning. In terms of the key changes, here is a summary of the changes we have made to our standard templates: To add an 'adverse media...
Compliance Update April 2021
SRA Risk Outlook 2020/2021 The SRA have published their risk outlook for 2020/2021. The outlook considers the market landscape and the effects of Covid-19 and Brexit, primarily the economic impact; The SRA priority risks for 2020/2021 are: AML: Highlighting property work, commercial work and client accounts as highest risks; For property an increasing risk around people pretending to own properties owned by more vulnerable people NEW: Updated AML Guidance has now been published:...
Solicitors: the SRA (probably) hates your client care letter template
The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has recently published a client care letter checklist (see summary below) on its website to help solicitors assess whether the regulator is likely to find their initial client paperwork suitable or not. For 99.9% of law firms I can probably save you the suspense: the answer is no (sorry!). The SRA has stressed that client care letters should be short, easy to read and make it obvious who will do what next. The SRA even goes so far as to suggest the use of icons. 'Icons!' I hear you say? What has our...
What is a freelance solicitor?
Today, if you want to work as a solicitor serving the public then you need to work in a regulated law firm. From 25 November 2019 however the SRA will scrap this rule. This means that a solicitor will be able to set up in business selling legal services to the public without opening a regulated law firm. If you are doing ‘unreserved work’ (such as will writing, employment law, contract drafting, general legal advice) then the implications of working outside of a law firm are a real game-changer: strictly speaking you are not required to...