Hurry if you want to respond to the SRA consultations on fining powers and SIF closure
Rachael Eyre summarises the important regulatory changes proposed in the latest SRA consultations, closing soon.
ICYMI: Time to update your firm wide risk assessment (FWRA)
All law firms caught by the Money Laundering Regulations must have a firmwide risk assessment (FWRA).
FWRAs are the backbone of money laundering compliance. They inform compliance officers where they need to focus policies, training and client due diligence.
In a recent live Zoom training, Rachael Eyre and Jonathon Bray led a session on how to update your law firm’s FWRA.
The slides and recording are available in the Webinar section, below.
In this post we list the main points to come out of the live training.
News and Guidance
Law Society Updates
- Gazette – SRA diversity data reveals minimal progress on ethnicity
- Q&A – I’m newly qualified. Can I become a freelance solicitor? – Yes, but you can’t provide reserved activities until you are 3 years PQE.
- Q&A – I’m setting up a new firm. What should we include in our client care letters? – Contact us if you would like a review of your client retainer docs.
- Tools – Template response: SRA future of SIF and PSYROC consultation – Makes responding this critical consultation much easier. For more background on the consultation, Rachael Eyre took part in this panel discussion for the Cardiff and District Law Society.
SRA Updates
- New Guidance – Administering oaths or statutory declarations outside your normal practice – clarifies the position that, despite what the rules say, solicitors can administer oaths outside of a firm so long as it is on an ad hoc basis. They will not be taken to be a sole practitioner or have to take out PI insurance.
- Updated Guidance – Sole practitioners and small firms regulatory starter pack
Webinars
This month’s live webinar is How to conduct client due diligence (CDD).
We know that everyone struggles with the practicalities of CDD. It is such a minefield and yet a critical part of your AML system.
Join us on 16th February at 12.00pm and use the opportunity to ask those burning CDD questions.
Last month’s live webinar session was ‘Time to update your firm wide risk assessment’ (see post above).
To access the recording please follow this link and use passcode F!+M6XyE. Access expires soon.
The slides have been uploaded to SlideShare:
Disciplinary decisions
- Christopher Holmes – solicitor rebuked for putting forward a settlement offer without instructions (personal injury).
- Angela Campbell – solicitor rebuked for recklessly sending a Notice of Acting to a client, which had never been sent to the Court.
- Ian Duncan Henery – fined £5,000 for making offensive comments about a person’s religion.
- Steven Mather – rebuked for attempting to enforce an invalid conditional fee agreement.
- Geoffrey Greenhouse – rebuked for moving client money to office when not authorised to do so (the client’s money was not held expressly for legal costs).
- Mishcon De Reya LLP (a firm) – fined a record £232,500 for Anti Money Laundering failures.