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
On 15 September, the House of Commons overturned the amendments made by the House of Lords to the Employment Rights Bill (ERB) during the Third...
MLex: UK companies are still awaiting the Cyber Security and Resilience Bill, as lawmakers this week renewed pressure on the government to introduce...
The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has clarified common misconceptions about how the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR)...
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has published its annual frozen assets reporting notice for 2025. The notice outlines the...
This week's edition of Practice Compliance weekly highlights includes OFSI’s first counter-terrorism sanctions breach notice, the final version of...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
Developing talent using competency modelsThis Practice Note provides guidance for in-house lawyers on the use of competency models to development...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—good practice for law firmsThe information in this Practice Note has been drawn from various SRA...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—enhanced due diligence—law firmsThis Practice Note explains your obligations around enhanced due diligence (EDD) and...
Money Laundering Regulations—enforcement, offences and penaltiesThis Practice Note explains the offences, penalties and enforcement provisions...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—record keeping—law firmsLaw firms are subject to general professional and regulatory obligations in relation to...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
AML, CTF and counter-proliferation financing policy—law firms1Introduction to the policy1.1[Firm name] is required to put in place appropriate systems...
Data protection impact assessment—consultation form[Insert title of project]—[insert who you are consulting, eg Employee consultation][Insert name of...
Records retention schedule1Introduction1.1This Record retention schedule accompanies and is incorporated into [insert organisation’s name]’s Records...
Privacy policy—law firms and professional servicesWe take your privacy very seriously. Please read this privacy policy carefully as it contains...
Terms of business—law firms1Our contract with you1.1These Terms of Business (as updated from time to time) apply to all work we do on your behalf. It...
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
Postal item
“Postal item” means— (a) any letter, postcard or other such thing in writing as may be used by the sender for imparting information to the recipient, or (b) any packet or parcel.
Relevant tax
“relevant tax” means— (a) income tax, (b) capital gains tax, (c) corporation tax, including any amount chargeable as if it were corporation tax or treated as if it were corporation tax, [(ca) apprenticeship levy,] (d) inheritance tax, (e) stamp duty land tax, and (f) annual tax on enveloped dwellings.
SRA Practice Framework Rules 2011
Rules which are in the SRA Handbook which prescribe the types of business through which solicitors, Registered European Lawyers, Registered Foreign Lawyers and authorised bodies can practise and the services which they can provide.
CONTACT US
