Legal Services Regulators

Ensuring the safety and health of employees is a cornerstone of responsible business practice in the UK. At the heart of this responsibility lies the legal requirement to carry out workplace risk assessments—a duty enshrined in the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR). This article sets out the legal framework surrounding risk assessments, outlines practical steps for compliance, and includes expert insights from Andrew Sanderson of Kingsley Napley and Craig Lydiate of Eighty20 Risk Systems.

On 18 November 2024, the SRA published its updated and now finalised guidance on internal investigations.

There has been a lot of media coverage about the benefits and dangers of artificial intelligence, and the speed of its development. Jessica Clay considers the challenges of regulation and whether it is keeping pace.

We are already half-way through 2024 and, as predicted, the fast-paced world of AML shows no signs of stagnation, with the key front line regulators such as the SRA frequently updating its AML guidance, as well as recent legislation from the European Commission, and specifically the creation of a new European AML agency in Germany. This blog continues our series of updates for legal practitioners and law firms on the key developments from recent months.

The Lawyer profiles our legal regulatory team who provide services and advice to law firms and lawyers. 

At the start of November, the government will host the first global summit on artificial intelligence (AI), with a focus on the safe use of AI. The AI Safety Summit will be at Bletchley Park, a venue representing innovation and pioneering, and once the top-secret home of WW2 codebreakers.

Last week the BSB issued new Social Media Guidance, which seeks to help barristers understand how their duties under the BSB Handbook may apply to their use of social media.

• Most England and Wales based law firms are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), including for anti-money laundering (AML) and counter terrorism (CT) purposes.
• Under reforms currently being considered, responsibility for the supervision of AML and CT could be taken away from the SRA (and other legal regulators UK-wide), and given to a new body, meaning firms could be subject to dual regulation in future.
• The consultation on this issue closes on 30 September 2023 and given the potential implications for law firms UK wide, is worth responding to.

The government has today laid before parliament regulations further extending the prohibition of the facilitation of sanction breaches, limiting access to advice from UK lawyers by individuals and businesses tied to the Russian regime, even where they have no underlying nexus with the UK.

The High Court has provided welcome guidance on what exactly constitutes the conduct of litigation: Iain Miller & Charlotte Judd examine this perilously grey area of the law

It’s been over a year since the government launched its call for evidence on SLAPPs (strategic lawsuits against public participation), seeking the views of the public on introducing legislation to address this perceived problem.

This blog covers some important developments in the AML world since our last update for legal practitioners and law firms.

Updates to Legal Sector Affinity Group (“LSAG”) AML guidance

The LSAG AML guidance for the legal sector, designed to help legal professionals and firms comply with the Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (as amended), was updated on 28 March 2023.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has been given the green light by the Legal Services Board (LSB) to amend the SRA Codes of Conduct in respect of treating colleagues fairly and with respect.

The LSB’s Decision Notice states the SRA’s intention to update the Codes immediately, “without further publicity or allowing [firms and individuals] time to prepare for the alterations”.

Indeed, these changes have already taken effect, introducing in the Codes explicit requirements for individuals to treat colleagues fairly and with respect, for managers to challenge behaviour that does not meet this standard, and for firms to treat those who work for and with them fairly and with respect, and to require their employees to meet that standard.

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.  

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. 

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’.

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.

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.

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.