Blog
Rayner my parade! The importance of specialist advice.
Jemma Brimblecombe
SRA Standards and Regulations – what you need to know
Reach for the StaRs!
Understanding the new SRA Principles and Code: the long read
SRA and the regulation of your personal life
Ethics and what’s expected of you
Reporting concerns - understanding your obligations
Stand up and be accountable
The new Solicitors Accounts Rules: what has changed?
The new ‘freelance’ solicitor: practical aspects and our predictions
Time to prioritise, but not to panic
20 March 2023
Our ‘at a glance’ guide for law firms: SRA guidance on effective supervision
In January 2023, the Courts and Tribunals Judiciary released a Statement of Expected Behaviour (“the Statement”) setting out the standards of behaviour expected from all judicial office holders. The Statement expands on the existing Guide to Judicial Conduct and covers behaviour in and outside of court, between judicial office holders and with staff and court users.
9 December 2022
Unlimited SRA fines on the horizon
The government is on a path to introduce legislation that will enable the Solicitors Regulation Authority to take greater action against the ‘facilitators’ of money laundering; law firms will soon need to brace themselves for unlimited fines from the SRA for ‘economic crimes’.
29 November 2022
SRA issues Warning Notice on Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation
Strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs) are legal actions that are taken not necessarily with the goal of winning in court, but which instead aim to intimidate, to induce fear, to tire and consume the financial and psychological resources of the target.
2 November 2022
Culture matters: a new era for law firm risk management
Jessica Clay, Iain Miller, and Lucinda Soon are delighted to have contributed a chapter in the new title by Globe Law and Business “Risk Management in Law Firms”, published in October 2022. The chapter, republished here, discusses the SRA’s increased spotlight on ethical culture in law firms, its origins and evolution through the years, where we are now, and what is on the horizon.
15 July 2022
AML update for legal practitioners and law firms – July 2022
This update covers recent developments relating to the regulation of money laundering in the legal sector and implications for legal practitioners and law firms. Specifically, four updates are explored. The first relates the SRA’s AML information-gathering exercise, undertaken as part of its role as anti-money laundering supervisor under the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Second, we look at HM Treasury’s response to its consultation on reform of the UK AML regime. Relevant changes emanating from this are expected to come into effect on 1 September 2022 by way of new secondary legislation entitled ‘The Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2022’. The third development concerns HM Treasury’s approval of the updated Legal Sector Affinity Group (LSAG) Guidance which was issued in 2021. Finally, and linked to this, two new LSAG Advisory Notes have been published which serve to clarify expectations of the Legal Sector Professional Body Supervisors, including those of the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), in relation to particular topical areas of risk.
Leading firm in the "Future of legal services - UK" category in Q3, 2019