About Practice Compliance
Every law firm has a legal duty to comply with the SRA Handbook and a raft of other legislation and regulations. Get it wrong and you personally face investigation, disciplinary action, fines and prosecution (not to mention the damage to your reputation).
GDPR compliance
Practical guidance tools, registers, training aids and other templates to help you comply with data protection law and manage privacy risks
SRA Handbook
Every law firm has a legal duty to comply with the SRA Handbook and a raft of other legislation and regulations. Get it wrong and you personally face investigation, disciplinary action, fines and prosecution.
Topics We Cover
Our Practice Compliance Experts
Melanie O'Brien
David Gilmore
Sarah Mumford
Iain Miller
Susanna Heley
Latest Practice Compliance News
The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has reported that a former human rights lawyer, Phil Shiner, has been sentenced to two years imprisonment,...
Law360, London: The head of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) called for the UK to pay whistleblowers in economic crime cases, admitting on 10 December...
The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has published its eighth Annual Review, covering the period from 1 September 2023 to 31 August 2024. The...
The US Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) has imposed sanctions on 28 individuals and businesses involved in a...
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has announced the appointment of Baroness Margaret Hodge as the UK's new Anti-Corruption...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
The UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)This Practice Note provides a summary of the UK GDPR regime. For a higher-level introduction to UK...
New and updated content 2024—Practice ComplianceThis Practice Note tells you, on a month-by-month basis, whether we have made substantive amendments...
The risks of cryptoassets from a financial crime, money laundering and terrorist financing perspective [Archived]ARCHIVED: This Practice Note...
The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill [Archived]ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information about the Data Protection and...
Dealing with dawn raids by the Serious Fraud Office—key informationThis Practice Note sets out what the SFO is, the main reasons it may carry out a...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Financial sanctions organisation-wide risk assessment1Introduction1.1We have performed an organisation-wide risk assessment of the areas where we are...
Guide to financial sanctions for staffWhat are sanctions?Sanctions are non-permanent international restrictions or prohibitions aimed at:•encouraging...
Financial sanctions policy1IntroductionThis financial sanctions policy sets out the procedures we have developed to comply with financial sanctions...
Sanctions breach report registerThis Precedent Sanctions breach report register is designed to help you keep a record of suspected sanction breaches...
Financial sanctions breach report formPlease supply as much information as possible about this suspected breach.If you require any help to complete...
Latest Practice Compliance Q&As
Featured Practice Compliance content
SRA Code of Conduct for individuals and firms
SRA Code of Conduct for individuals and firmsThis Practice Note provides guidance on the SRA Codes of Conduct, contained in the SRA Standards and...
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure 2019
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure 2019The protection of confidential information is a fundamental feature of the solicitor-client relationship...
Conflicts of interest 2019
Conflicts of interest 2019Conflicts of interest can cause difficult and serious problems for solicitors and law firms, both from a compliance point of...
Working with foreign lawyers—the Registered Foreign Lawyer (RFL) regime
Working with foreign lawyers—the Registered Foreign Lawyer (RFL) regimeThe Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) operates a registration regime for...
Undertakings and the court
Undertakings and the courtThis Practice Note explains:•what powers the court has to enforce undertakings•when it is likely to exercise those...
Compliance officer for legal practice—COLP—title and duties 2011 [Archived]
Compliance officer for legal practice—COLP—title and duties 2011 [Archived]The compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) sits at the heart of the...
Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) practice management standards—Precedents content map
Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) practice management standards—Precedents content mapThe Law Society's Conveyancing Quality Scheme (CQS) is a quality...
Acting for yourself, friends and family
Acting for yourself, friends and familyThis Practice Note covers considerations where a law firm wishes to act for one of its own partners or...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—source of funds and source of wealth
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—source of funds and source of wealthSource of funds and wealth was a key focus of the SRA’s Preventing Money...
Pre-employment checks—law firms
Pre-employment checks—law firmsWhile the application form and interview process will give you some assurances as to a candidate's suitability for a...
What are the ramifications for a solicitor who does not comply with Law Society Formula B undertakings and/or did not hold their client's part of the contract at the point of exchange? If the contract later comes into dispute does an action lie with that solicitor or their firm?
When and how can I terminate my retainer?
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Solicitors Regulation AuthorityThe Solicitors Regulation authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. It...
Risk management policy—law firms
Risk management policy—law firms1Introduction1.1Risk management is central to the regulatory regime under which we operate. [Insert name of firm] is...
Money laundering compliance officer—law firms
Money laundering compliance officer—law firmsThis Practice Note is intended for law firms that are subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist...
Client conflicts in conveyancing or property matters—when can you act?
Client conflicts in conveyancing or property matters—when can you act?There are two types of conflict: own interest conflicts (sometimes called...
Closing a client matter—law firms
Closing a client matter—law firmsClosing a client matter properly is a basic client care, risk management and housekeeping requirement. There are also...
Dealing with freelance solicitors
Dealing with freelance solicitorsFrom 25 November 2019, the SRA Standards and Regulations introduced a new method of practising: the freelance...
Associated legal terms
Client money
Money which is held or received for a client or as a trustee.
Manager
This is a term which is defined in the SRA Code of Conduct [2011] for the purposes of the SRA Handbook [2011].
Separate business
Practising solicitors, and others involved in the provision of legal services through a regulated SRA firm, must comply with strict requirements about the types of services which they can provide through any business which is not regulated by the SRA or another approved regulator.
CONTACT US
