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.
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Our Practice Compliance Experts
Melanie O'Brien
David Gilmore
Sarah Mumford
Iain Miller
Susanna Heley
Latest Practice Compliance News
The latest Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary has announced, among other developments, that it has approved revisions to Recommendation 16 of...
Law360, London: The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) will receive additional funding that will bring its budget near the £100m mark in three years, the UK...
The Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) has updated General Licence INT/2023/3263556, introducing new controls on GTLK-related...
This week's edition of Practice Compliance weekly highlights includes: news that UK lawyers are considering a sanctions U-turn on Russia, the ex-Lord...
Parliament passed the Data (Use and Access) Bill (DUA Bill) on 11 June 2025. First introduced in October 2024, this passage concludes a protracted...
Latest Practice Compliance Practice Notes
Trade sanctions—offencesThe Sanctions and Anti-Money Laundering Act 2018 (SAMLA 2018) created a UK specific framework for the implementation and...
How to prepare a slavery and human trafficking statementSection 54 of the Modern Slavery Act 2015 (MSA 2015) requires some organisations to produce...
Risk management policy—regulatory requirementsThere is a widely accepted definition of risk, ie:Risk = probability x impactTherefore, for any given...
Conditional fee agreements—definition and requirementsWhat is a CFA?A CFA is defined as:‘An agreement with a person providing advocacy or litigation...
Money Laundering Regulations 2017—independent audit function—law firmsThis Practice Note provides guidance on establishing an independent function to...
Latest Practice Compliance Precedents
Letter—from employer enclosing data protection privacy notice (employment)[Insert name and address of client]Private and confidentialDear [insert...
Anti-tax evasion facilitation clause—pro-customer1Anti-tax evasion facilitation1.1For the purposes of this clause 1:1.1.1the expressions ‘Associated...
Prevention of fraud clause1Prevention of fraud1.1For the purposes of this clause 1:1.1.1the expressions ‘Associated With’, ‘Fraud Offence‘ and...
Modern slavery—contract clauses1DefinitionsModern Slavery Policy•means the Customer’s anti-slavery and human trafficking policy as set out in Schedule...
Invitation to tender—template1Introduction1.1Invitation to tenderThis is an invitation to tender to provide the Services in accordance with [insert...
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
In-house lawyer
A solicitor, registered European lawyer or registered foreign lawyer who works for a firm which is not regulated by the SRA or another Approved Regulator
Legal Services Act 2007
This statute sets out the legal framework for the regulation of the legal profession.
Solicitors Act 1974
The Solicitors Act 1974 (SA 1974) gives the Law Society general powers to regulate the conduct of solicitors and to make rules governing all aspects of practice.
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