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
This week's edition of Practice Compliance weekly highlights includes: the latest sanctions news, approval of AML guidance for the legal sector by...
The Export Control Joint Unit has announced that amendments to Syria sanctions by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) took effect...
MLex: Potentially conflicting legal requirements, national governance approaches to ensure regulatory consistency, as well as clear legal advice to...
Law360, London: The Serious Fraud Office's 'cast iron' promise that companies self-reporting wrongdoing will duck prosecution could lead to a new wave...
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has issued new General licence INT/2025/6135848, updated INT/2025/6160920 and amended licence...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
Facilitation payments under the Bribery Act 2010Facilitating the performance of a duty by public officialsFacilitation payments, also known as...
Active bribery, passive bribery and bribing foreign public officialsThe Bribery Act 2010 (BA 2010) criminalises:•bribing another person (active...
How to identify when a commission might become a bribeCommissions constitute the giving of a financial advantage. Not all commissions will be bribes....
Failure to prevent bribery—the offenceThis Practice Note explains the corporate criminal offence of failing to prevent bribery under section 7 of the...
Sanctions—legal services general licencesThis Practice Note provides a summary of Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) General Licences...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Cookie policyPlease read this cookie policy carefully as it contains important information on who we are and how we use cookies and other similar...
Policy—equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)1Policy statement1.1The Company is fully committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion...
Policy—equality, diversity and inclusion (short form)1Policy statement1.1The Company is fully committed to promoting equality, diversity and inclusion...
Outsourcing agreement—short formThis Agreement is made on [date]Parties1[Customer] a company incorporated in [England] with registered number [company...
Prevention of fraud clause1Prevention of fraud1.1For the purposes of this clause 1:1.1.1the expressions ‘Associated With’, ‘Fraud Offence‘ and...
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
Interest policy
In accordance with the SRA Accounts Rules 2011, all firms must have an interest policy which provides for the payment of interest to a client when it is fair and reasonable to do so.
Make available
Funds/economic resources are made available for the benefit of a target only if they thereby obtain, or are able to obtain, a significant financial benefit. OFSI says it will apply the normal and everyday usage of those words. The provision of basic economic resources for personal consumption is not likely to be viewed by OFSI as having made them available directly or indirectly to or for the benefit of a designated person.
SRA Practicing Regulations 2011
These Rules are in the SRA Handbook and regulate applications for practising certificates by solicitors and registration by European lawyers and foreign lawyers.
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