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 Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a consultation proposing changes to its data protection complaint handling processes. The...
Law360, Expert Analysis: The Crime and Policing Bill 2025, currently under consideration by the House of Lords, contains a dizzying array of proposals...
MLex: A UK accounting firm is the first to face prosecution for failure to prevent tax evasion, eight years after the offence was written into UK law....
Law360, Expert analysis: The Crime and Policing Bill 2025, currently under consideration by the House of Lords, contains a dizzying array of proposals...
The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) has launched a consultation seeking feedback on new draft guidance for organisations handling data...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
How to manage a personal data breachData security is a cornerstone of the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR). The sixth data protection...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—politically exposed persons—PEPsIndividuals who have, or have had, a high political profile, or hold, or have held,...
PEPs—FAQs—law firmsThis Practice Note is intended for law firms. It covers some frequently asked questions in relation to politically exposed persons...
How to conduct a contract auditBefore you can start taking steps to take control of the contract management process in the legal department, you have...
What is contract management?The term ‘contract management’ will mean one thing to your organisation and something slightly different to you as...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Letter to client—competing for the same objectiveThank you for your instructions to act on [insert description of matter]. We have written to you...
Letter to client—substantially common interestThank you for your instructions to act on [insert description of matter]. We have written to you...
Sample personal injury referral fee management information reportYou should retain records and management information (MI) to enable you to...
Contract audit meeting with director/head of function—agenda1Attendees:[Insert name of director/head of function][Insert name of in-house lawyer][List...
Contract management process workshop programme1Attendees:[List attendees]Each attendee to come to the workshop prepared to give a PowerPoint...
Latest Practice Compliance Q&As
Featured Practice Compliance content
What is a solicitor's undertaking?
What is a solicitor's undertaking?An undertaking is a commitment by a solicitor to do something. It can be enforced against the solicitor by the...
In what circumstances might a solicitor be able to contact another lawyer's client directly?
SRA Codes 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...
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...
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...
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure 2019The protection of confidential information is a fundamental feature of the solicitor-client relationship...
What is a legal entity identifier (LEI) and does my law firm need one?
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...
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Solicitors Regulation AuthorityThe Solicitors Regulation authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. It...
When and how can I terminate my retainer?
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...
Client care letter—law firms
Client care letter—law firmsDear [Insert client’s name][Insert heading, eg matter description]Thank you for your instructions to act on your behalf in...
Conflicts of interest—law firms and solicitors
Conflicts of interest 2019Conflicts of interest can cause difficult and serious problems for solicitors and law firms, both from a compliance point of...
If an email is sent to you in error by an opposing party’s solicitor, what obligations does one have to notify the client of its contents? If there is no duty to disclose the contents to the client, is there a duty to let them know that the email has been received but deleted?
SRA Accounts Rules—law firms
SRA Accounts Rules 2019This Practice Note sets out the requirements of the SRA Accounts rules 2019 (the 2019 Rules), in force from 25 November 2019,...
Who owns the matter file—law firms?
Risk management—key risks—law firms
Risk management—key risks—law firmsEffective risk management is fundamental to the commercial success of law firms. To manage risk effectively you...
How to close 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...
Associated legal terms
Deal with
In relation to funds, generally means: —moving, transferring, altering, using, accessing —otherwise dealing with them in any way which would result in any change to their volume, amount, location, ownership, possession, character or destination, or —other change that would enable the funds to be used, including portfolio management In relation to economic resources, generally means using economic resources to obtain funds, goods or services in any way including, but not limited to, by selling, hiring or mortgaging them.
Offshoring
The relocation of work that a law firm or in-house team would normally perform to another country.
Risk-based regulation
The SRA's approach to regulation is risk-based.
CONTACT US
