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
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published the findings of a review assessing financial services firms’ systems and controls for financial...
This week's edition of Practice Compliance weekly highlights includes analysis of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 forthcoming expansion of corporate...
The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) has announced a new package of UK sanctions targeting cryptocurrency exchanges and the...
The Home Office has announced that the EU has been added as a signatory to the UK-led global public-private partnership on fraud established at the...
Corporate Crime analysis: The Crime and Policing Act 2026 (CPA 2026) has recently received Royal Assent and ushers in a significant recalibration of...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
This Practice Note explains:•what powers the court has to enforce undertakings•when it is likely to exercise those powersBreach of an undertaking is...
This Practice Note tells you, on a month-by-month basis, whether we have made substantive amendments to existing content or published new content in...
This ‘How to’ guide sets out how to manage underperformance in the workplace. It considers, in particular, the possible reasons for underperformance,...
This Practice Note provides guidance for in-house lawyers on the use of competency models to development talent within their teams and includes a...
What is an undertaking?An undertaking is:•a statement, given orally or in writing, whether or not it includes the word ‘undertake’ or ‘undertaking’•to...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
1Assemble a bribery incident teamAssemble a bribery incident team, including your head of legal/compliance, nominated officer, risk manager,...
From [insert name/job title] [name] [date]Slavery and human trafficking remain major issues in the world, despite the many dedicated efforts to...
1Preliminary assessmentIdentify the nature of the actual or suspected organised crime activity and any immediate risks to the organisation.Consider...
1General informationReview period[Insert review period]Date of review[Insert date]Person(s) conducting review[Insert name(s)]2ComplaintsNumber of...
1Introduction1.1Invitation to tenderThis is an invitation to tender to provide the Services in accordance with [insert organisation’s name]’s...
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
Fixed odds
(1) A bet is at fixed odds for the purposes of this Part only if, when making the bet, each of the persons making it knows or can know the amount the person will win, except in so far as that amount is to depend on— (a) the result of the event or events betted on, (b) any such event taking place or producing a result, (c) the numbers taking part in any such event, (d) the starting prices or totalisator odds for any such event, or (e) the time when the person's bet is received by any person with or through whom it is made. (2) A bet made with or through a person carrying on a business of receiving or negotiating bets and made in the course of that business is not a bet at fixed odds for the purposes of this Part if the winnings of the person by whom it is made consist or may consist wholly or in part of something other than money.
Issue of shares
(a) references (however expressed) to an issue of shares in any company are to such of the shares in the company as are of the same class and issued on the same day, and (b) references (however expressed) to an issue of shares in any company to an individual are to such of the shares in the company as are of the same class and are issued to the individual in one capacity on the same day.
Paralegal
The term paralegal is used to describe an individual who is employed in a legal services firm under the supervision of qualified lawyers to carry out legal work.
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