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
Law360, London: On 1 December 2024, a BBC investigation revealed that certain tomato purees sold by UK and German retailers likely contain, despite...
Law360, London: The UK sanctions regime faces a major test on 15 January 2025 as billionaire Eugene Shvidler seeks to have his financial restrictions...
Law360, London: The effectiveness of Britain's sanctions regime should not be judged solely by court victories, according to a top UK law enforcement...
The Home Office has launched a consultation on new legislative proposals aimed at tackling the growing threat of ransomware attacks in the UK. The...
The HM Treasury has published details of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the UK's Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) and...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
OFSI General Licence trackerThis Practice Note tracks General Licences issued by the Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) under the UK...
New and updated content 2025—Practice ComplianceThis Practice Note tells you, on a month-by-month basis, whether we have made substantive amendments...
Understanding and improving gender and other pay gapsThis Practice Note looks at:•what is meant by ‘the gender pay gap’ and other pay gaps related to...
Brexit—implications for data protection [Archived]ARCHIVED: This archived Practice Note provides information on the Data Protection, Privacy and...
Data protection principlesThis Practice Note covers the principles for handling personal data that form the core of the United Kingdom General Data...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Social media activity monitoring form1General informationName of person(s) conducting reviewDate of review[Insert name(s)][Insert date]2Review and...
Performance appraisal and personal development plan—trainee solicitorName of trainee[Insert trainee’s name]Appraising supervisor[Insert appraising...
Fraud risk management policy—law firmsSTOP PRESS: On 6 December 2024 the government published guidance to organisations on the offence of failure to...
Key terms for insertion into a services contract for the appointment of a data protection representative in the UK or EEANote: This precedent includes...
Anti-bribery and corruption—code of ethicsBribery and corruption remain major issues in world trade, despite the many dedicated efforts to prevent...
Latest Practice Compliance Q&As
Featured Practice Compliance content
SRA Code 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...
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure 2019
Duties of confidentiality and disclosure 2019The protection of confidential information is a fundamental feature of the solicitor-client relationship...
Conflicts of interest 2019
Conflicts of interest 2019Conflicts of interest can cause difficult and serious problems for solicitors and law firms, both from a compliance point of...
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...
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...
Compliance officer for legal practice—COLP—title and duties 2011 [Archived]
Compliance officer for legal practice—COLP—title and duties 2011 [Archived]The compliance officer for legal practice (COLP) sits at the heart of the...
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...
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...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—source of funds and source of wealth
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—source of funds and source of wealthSource of funds and wealth was a key focus of the SRA’s Preventing Money...
Pre-employment checks—law firms
Pre-employment checks—law firmsWhile the application form and interview process will give you some assurances as to a candidate's suitability for a...
What are the ramifications for a solicitor who does not comply with Law Society Formula B undertakings and/or did not hold their client's part of the contract at the point of exchange? If the contract later comes into dispute does an action lie with that solicitor or their firm?
When and how can I terminate my retainer?
Solicitors Regulation Authority
Solicitors Regulation AuthorityThe Solicitors Regulation authority (SRA) is the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society. It...
Risk management policy—law firms
Risk management policy—law firms1Introduction1.1Risk management is central to the regulatory regime under which we operate. [Insert name of firm] is...
Money laundering compliance officer—law firms
Money laundering compliance officer—law firmsThis Practice Note is intended for law firms that are subject to the Money Laundering, Terrorist...
Client conflicts in conveyancing or property matters—when can you act?
Client conflicts in conveyancing or property matters—when can you act?There are two types of conflict: own interest conflicts (sometimes called...
Closing 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...
Dealing with freelance solicitors
Dealing with freelance solicitorsFrom 25 November 2019, the SRA Standards and Regulations introduced a new method of practising: the freelance...
Associated legal terms
Compliance officer for finance and administration
A member of the firm responsible for compliance in accordance with rule 8.6 of the SRA Authorisation Rules
Legal disciplinary practice
A Legal disciplinary practice is a type of firm owned and run by lawyers and up to 25% non lawyers.
Postal data
“Postal data” means data which— (a) identifies, or purports to identify, any person, apparatus or location to or from which a communication is or may be transmitted, (b) identifies or selects, or purports to identify or select, apparatus through which, or by means of which, a communication is or may be transmitted, (c) identifies, or purports to identify, the time at which an event relating to a communication occurs, or (d) identifies the data or other data as data comprised in, included as part of, attached to or logically associated with a particular communication. For the purposes of this definition “data”, in relation to a postal item, includes anything written on the outside of the item.
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