Blog
The International Data Insights Report: Trends in international arbitration
Mark Fallmann
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
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.
20 January 2022
Moving with the times
The regulatory year ahead will see the SRA seeking to bolster its fining powers as it turns its attention to law firm culture, NDAs and technology; as well as more traditional areas such as anti-money laundering.
20 October 2021
Returning to the office? MeToo
As the legal profession returns to the office after many months ensconced in home offices, many will be looking forward to the increase in social interaction and in-person activities which will inevitably follow. Alongside this, legal services regulators appear to be gearing up for a commensurate rise in bullying and harassment complaints. With developments apace in this area among the UK regulators and further afield, what are we likely to see next from the Solicitors Regulatory Authority (SRA)?
26 July 2021
Harcus Sinclair v Your Lawyers - Another nail in the coffin of solicitors’ undertakings?
Every solicitor knows that an undertaking is serious stuff. Arguably it is the greatest power available to a solicitor. A promise, if broken, that will lead to immediate and serious consequences for the giver. As such it can be relied upon to the ends of the earth. The power of undertakings has meant that they sit at the heart of every property transaction, bridging the time gap between the sending of money and the receiving of title. They are also used in other areas of commercial life and as part of litigation. The “brand” of a solicitor’s undertaking is so powerful that little thought is given as to where their power comes from.
6 June 2021
Ethical imperatives
Julie Norris and Jessica Clay consider SRA entity regulation and the imperative to create an ethical (ergo, compliant) legal workplace.
Leading firm in the "Future of legal services - UK" category in Q3, 2019