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: OFSI’s new confidential reporting guidance, a Red Alert on Russian oil...
Law360, London: Businesses that replace workers with artificial intelligence (AI) tools could face difficulties when they make claims under standard...
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated its UK Financial Sanctions FAQs, adding FAQ 149 on ‘What constitutes an economic...
The National Crime Agency (NCA), Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) have jointly...
The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 (DUAA 2025), which received Royal Assent on 19 June 2025, introduces targeted amendments to the UK’s data...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
Other data subject rights—issues in employmentFORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 19 June 2025, the Data (Use and Access) Bill received Royal Assent, becoming the...
The US Foreign Corrupt Practices Act and the UK Bribery Act 2010 comparedBackground to the Foreign Corrupt Practices ActThe US Foreign Corrupt...
New and updated content 2025—Practice ComplianceThis Practice Note tells you, on a month-by-month basis, whether we have made substantive amendments...
OFSI General Licence trackerThis Practice Note tracks General Licences issued by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) under the UK...
How to handle data subject requestsThis Practice Note is intended for private sector commercial organisations in the UK. It provides practical...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Response to data subject request—all rights—requesting identity information or confirming authority[Name of individual making request][Address of...
Response to data subject request—right to restriction of processing—able to comply with request[Name of individual making request][Address of...
Notice to controller—data subject request for erasure of data—where data has been made public[Name of third party controller processing the personal...
Erasure of data request formPlease complete this form if you wish to ask us to delete your personal data (an erasure request). You do not have to use...
Letter to data subject—establishing temporary restriction on processing[Name of individual making request][Address of individual making request][Date...
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
Authorised body
An Authorised body is a legal services body which has been authorised by the SRA under its Authorisation Rules to practise as a licensed body or a recognised body.
Introducer
Means any person, business or other entity which introduces potential clients to an authorised firm.
Restriction of processing
“Restriction of processing” means the marking of stored personal data with the aim of limiting its processing for the future.
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