Compliance and business systems

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You are reading current version in effect from 25 November 2019

Guidance

Guidance

Responsibilities of COLPs and COFAs - Guidance

Guidance: To assist COLPs and COFAs in understanding their duties and responsibilities.

The Insurance Act 2015 - Guidance

Guidance: To help you understand changes to the minimum terms and conditions of solicitors’ professional indemnity insurance which came into force in August 2016.

Money laundering and terrorist financing - Warning notice

Warning notice: This Warning Notice reminds you of the warning signs of suspicious transactions.

Tax avoidance your duties - Warning notice

Warning notice: This reminds those advising clients about their tax affairs about the importance of understanding their regulatory obligations.

Closing down your practice - Guidance

Guidance: To enable those who are closing down their practice to protect the interests of their clients and comply with our Standards and Regulations.

Adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance - Case studies

Case studies: This case study should be read in conjunction with the guidance on adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance.

Adequate and appropriate indemnity insurance - Guidance

Guidance: To help you understand your requirement to take out and maintain professional indemnity insurance that provides adequate and appropriate cover in respect of services you provide.

Firm-wide risk assessments - Guidance

Guidance: Understand how firms subject to the money laundering regulations must comply with the requirement to have a firm wide risk assessment under regulation 18.

Compliance with the money laundering regulations – firm risk assessment - Warning notice

Warning notice: This Warning Notice reminds you of your legal obligations to make sure that you do not facilitate money laundering or terrorist financing and understand your obligations under the money laundering regulations.

Money laundering and terrorist financing - Warning notice

Warning notice: This Warning Notice reminds you of the warning signs of suspicious transactions.

Reporting and notification obligations - Case studies

Case studies: To be read in conjunction with our guidance on Reporting and notification obligations.

Firm closures due to financial difficulties - Guidance

Guidance: This guidance sets out our approach and the support we can provide to firms which are experiencing financial or other difficulties that threaten their ability to carry on trading.

Solicitors undertaking regulated financial services activities relating to pre-paid funeral plans - Guidance

Guidance: Clarifies the position of SRA-authorised firms following the introduction of new regulatory requirements relating to pre-paid funeral plans.

Glossary terms

SRA

means the Solicitors Regulation Authority

regulatory arrangements

has the meaning given to it by section 21 of the LSA

manager

means:

  1. the sole principal in a recognised sole practice;
  2. a member of a LLP;
  3. a director of a company;
  4. a partner in a partnership; or
  5. in relation to any other body, a member of its governing body
interest holder

means a person who has an interest or an indirect interest, or holds a material interest, in a body (and "indirect interest" and "interest" have the same meaning as in the LSA), and references to "holds an interest" shall be construed accordingly

compliance officer

is a reference to a body's COLP or its COFA

connected practices

means a body providing legal services, established outside England and Wales which is not an overseas practice or an excluded body but is otherwise connected to an authorised body in England and Wales, by virtue of:

  1. being a parent undertaking, within the meaning of section 1162 of the Companies Act 2006, of the authorised body;
  2. being jointly managed or owned, or having a partner, member or owner in common, or controlled by or, with the authorised body;
  3. participating in a joint enterprise or across its practice generally, sharing costs, revenue or profits related to the provision of legal services with the authorised body; or
  4. common branding,


    and in this definition:

    1. a "body" means a natural person or company, LLP or partnership or other body corporate or unincorporated association or business entity; and
    2. an "excluded body" means a body which is part of:
      1. a Verein or similar group structure involving more than one body providing legal services in respect of which the authorised body in England and Wales connected to it is not regarded as being the body which is the headquarters of that Verein or similar group structure or a significant part of it;
      2. a joint practice, alliance or association or association with the authorised body in England and Wales connected to it which is controlled by a body providing legal services outside England and Wales; or
      3. a group of affiliated bodies providing legal services which is not managed or controlled by an authorised body in England and Wales
    3. A "joint enterprise" means any contractual arrangements between two or more independent bodies which provide legal services, for profit and/or other defined purpose or goal which apply generally between them, not just agreed on a matter by matter basis
    4. "Common branding" means the use of a name, term, design, symbol, words or a combination of these that identifies two or more legal practices as distinct from other legal practices or an express statement that a legal practice is practising in association with one or more other named firms