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
Law360, London: A law firm and its consultant have been imposed a fine of almost £80,000 between them after the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)...
This week's edition of Practice Compliance weekly highlights includes sanctions against Iranian authorities for human rights violations, a warning...
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has imposed immediate sanctions on six individuals on 5 February 2026. The measures were...
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated its UK Financial Sanctions frequently asked questions (FAQs), amending FAQs 147...
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) has announced the UK’s package of sanctions against ten individuals and one organisation in Iran...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
How to handle data protection complaintsThis Practice Note is intended for commercial organisations in the UK. It provides guidance on how to handle...
Acting for yourself, friends and familyExtreme caution should be exercised by firms and individuals considering acting for themselves, friends or...
The Whistleblowing DirectiveThis Practice Note examines Directive (EU) 2019/1937 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 October 2019 on...
Appointing a European representative—data protectionSTOP PRESS: This document is being updated to reflect implementation of the Data (Use and Access)...
Cookie compliance—summarySTOP PRESS: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the Data (Use and Access) Act...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Data protection complaint formThis form is intended to help you to submit a data protection complaint in a way that will enable us to investigate and...
Data protection complaint—progress update letter[Insert complainant’s name][Insert complainant’s contact address]Our ref: [insert complaint reference...
Data protection complaint—request for further information or documentation[Insert complainant’s name][Insert complainant’s contact address]Our ref:...
Data protection complaints—periodic review1General informationDate of review[Insert date]Person(s) conducting review[Insert name(s)]2Data...
Data processing complaints—registerThis Precedent is intended for private-sector commercial organisations in the UK. It will allow you to keep a...
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
Communications data
“Communications data”, in relation to a postal operator or postal service, means— (a) postal data comprised in, included as part of, attached to or logically associated with a communication (whether by the sender or otherwise) for the purposes of a postal service by means of which it is being or may be transmitted, (b) information about the use made by any person of a postal service (but excluding any content of a communication (apart from information within paragraph (a)), or (c) information not within paragraph (a) or (b) that is (or is to be or is capable of being) held or obtained by or on behalf of a person providing a postal service, is about those to whom the service is provided by that person and relates to the service so provided.
Economic resources
Assets of every kind, whether tangible or intangible, movable or immovable, which are not funds but may be used to obtain funds, goods or services.
Tax enquiry
“Tax enquiry” means— (a) an enquiry under section 9A or 12AC of TMA 1970 (enquiries into self-assessment returns for income tax and capital gains tax), including an enquiry by virtue of notice being deemed to be given under section 9A of that Act by virtue of section 12AC(6) of that Act, (b) an enquiry under paragraph 5 of Schedule 1A to that Act (enquiry into claims made otherwise than by being included in a return), (c) an enquiry under paragraph 24 of Schedule 18 to FA 1998 (enquiry into company tax return for corporation tax etc), including an enquiry by virtue of notice being deemed to be given under that paragraph by virtue of section 12AC(6) of TMA 1970, (d) an enquiry under paragraph 12 of Schedule 10 to FA 2003 (enquiries into SDLT returns), (e) an enquiry under paragraph 8 of Schedule 33 to FA 2013 (enquiries into annual tax for enveloped dwellings returns), or (f) a deemed enquiry under subsection (6).
CONTACT US
