COLP and COFA

COLP and COFA

The role of compliance officers in law firms, ie the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) have specific regulatory obligations under the SRA Standards and Regulations.

Requirement to have compliance officers

An authorised body must at all times have an individual who is designated as its COLP and an individual who is designated as its COFA, and whose designations the SRA has approved. An authorised body is:

•
a recognised body (ie lawyer-owned firm)
•
a licensed body, eg an alternative business structure (ABS), or a multi-disciplinary practice (MDP)
•
a recognised sole practice

regulated by the SRA.

Qualification and approval

The individual or individuals who are designated as COLP and COFA must:

•
be a manager or employee of the firm (unless they are already approved as compliance officer for a related firm and they are a manager or employee of that related firm)
•
consent to the designation
•
not be disqualified from acting as a compliance officer under section 99 of the Legal Services Act 2007
•
in the case of a COLP, be an

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