The SRA have released their Risk Outlook 2015/16, which has the stated aim of striking a balance between giving firms the necessary freedom to do business, but with a clear focus on maintaining quality and protecting the public.
Identifying risks early with a view to mitigation makes perfect sense – both in terms of protecting your firm and protecting your clients.
The SRA identifies a number of key priorities, namely:
– inadequate service, particularly in relation to vulnerable clients (see the Law Society’s recent practice note)
– protecting client money,
– lack of diversity in the profession,
– lack of integrity e.g. abusive litigation
– bogus firms – this problem seems to be growing exponentially
– independence e.g. influenced by a single client
– security – firms are being targeted by increasingly sophisticated cyber criminals
– money laundering
We will be taking taking a closer look at each of these priority risks over the next few weeks.
